Stopping a Sweating Toilet Tank

There are a few reasons that condensation builds up on the outside of a toilet tank. Although not considered a primary repair for a home, you should not neglect this. Over time dripping water from condensation can ruin your flooring. Additionally water can build up under your flooring causing mold. Stopping this condensation is often requires a bit of detective work. First start with the basics.

Condensation builds up on a take due to temperature differences from inside the tank to the outside room temperature. Additionally the room humidity also impacts the amount of condensation that can form.

To start eliminating the condensation, first check if you flapper valve leaks. The flapper valve sits at the bottom of the tank and stops the tank water from flowing into the toilet bowel. When you flush a toilet, cold water replaces the water in the toilet tank. If the flapper leaks, cold water will need to constantly be added to maintain the tank level. This will keep the water temperature in the tank colder then is should be. To test if your flapper leaks, add some food coloring into the tank. If there is a leak, the toilet bowel water will change color. If the flapper does leak, replace the flapper. You can pick up a new flapper at your hardware store for a few dollars. Installing a new flapper will take you about 15 minutes and is one of the easiest repairs a home owner can do.

If the flapper does not leak, try insulating the tank. You can pick up foam insulation designed for toilet tanks at your local hardware store for about $6. To install the insulation, first turn the water off to the toilet, then drain the tank by flushing. Once drained dry the inside walls with a towel and cut and glue the insulation to the tank. It will take about 10 hours to dry so you will not be able to use the toilet during that time.

If the problem still persists, try installing a hot water mixer valve. This will reduce the temperature of the toilet tank water. By mixing in hot water, the temperature of the water in the tank will be higher. This in turn will reduce the amount of condensation formed. It is important to note that this fix is not an ideal solution since with some homes, the toilet is too far away from the hot water heater. The result is that hot water does not get to the toilet. A good way to test if this will work for you is to turn on the bathroom sink hot water. If it takes a while for the water to warm up, then this solution wont work for you.

Don't forget to use the bathroom exhaust fan to help remove excessive humidity from the bathroom. This is often overlooked by homeowners and often helps remedy the situation.

If none of these suggestions work you can get a kit that installs on the bottom outside of the tank to collect and drain off any condensation.