Posted by: "Ron Johnson" l0c0l0b0@hotmail.com
> I have a tenant with a problem with his toilet. He is from
> a more temperate climate and keeps his temperature higher
> than most people. As a result, he gets condensation from
> the toilet tank; mainly from the back.
Hi Ron;
Your tenant's thermostat settings can not possibly have
anything to do with it. Warming a room does not put more
moisture into the air, so it can not effect the dew point temp-
-erature, where condensation occurs. There are several things
that might be causing this situation. First, you need to under-
-stand that this is an issue of "dew point". If you do not have
an understanding of how that works, you might do a Google
search and read up on it. For some reason, in that residence,
either the dew point is unusually high, or the toilet tank is
unusually cold (because condensation only happens when a
surface is cooler than the dew point), one or the other, or a
combination of the two. Both could be to blame for it, and
improving one or both could be a solution, even if it does
not correct the root cause.
If the tank is too cold, it is because there is too much water
cycling through the tank. This might be because the tenant
is around the house a lot, and flushes the toilet a lot. Or, the
tank may have a leaky flapper, so that the tank is automatically
being replenished with fresh colder water. Either way, may be
costing in higher water or electric bills, as well as producing
the condensation problem.
The second contributor to this problem, would be that there is
excess humidity in the house. It could come from any of several
sources. Since it is in the bathroom, my first thought is the tenant
may take a lot of hot showers (and maybe blasts the hot water
on the sink) with the door closed and the bathroom vent fan (if
there is one) not turned on. Of course, that causes condensation
on everything, which soaks into the walls (and could feed mold
growth) so that excess moisture, in the room, will continue to
keep the humidity excessively high. That could account for
the toilet tank condensation. Another unpleasant though, is
that you could have a small water leak, inside a wall, or under
the floor, that is creating the excess humidity (actually happened
to me, less than six months ago).
You might mount a hygrometer in the bathroom (digital
thermometer/hygrometer with HI/LO memory, about $12 at
WalMart) to show the current, as well as the high and low,
relative humidity levels. They should not exceed 60% and
50% would be better, though in Winter it is good for it to
never exceed 30% (not because of this toilet issue, but to
avoid condensation on windows, and inside the exterior wall)
The excess humidity could be coming from a source that is
not as near as the shower, or long hot baths. It might come
from the kitchen, with a lot of steamy cooking, without using
a vent fan. A lot of people have the really wild idea that
boiling water is a more efficient way to heat a house.
Evaporation does not increase BTUs, and humid air leaking
out of a house, or condensing on the walls and windows,
just increases heat loss. Your tenant may be intentionally
putting excess humidity into the air (thinking it is a good
idea), or it may be accidental. Either way, it is not a
good thing, and the toilet is telling you that either it is
too cold, or the house air is too humid. Either way
(or both) it is a problem that needs to be corrected.
So deal with the problem, not the symptom. Do not
insulate the tank. Solve the dew point problem,
because the toilet tank condensation is not the only
condensation that it will create, and the others may
cause real damage.
There are a couple of other potential causes. One has
already been mentioned. It is the unvented burning of
fossil fuels in the house, like with an unvented gas heater,
or excessive usage of a stove and/or gas oven. The other
could be excessive moisture in a crawlspace, or under
a wood floor over a slab. The water source could be
ground water, or a leak (is there a sealed crawlspace
with ducting, and no vapor barrier on the ground?).
Remember, this is unusual, so there is something wrong.
This is not suposed to be happening...keep that in mind.
The toilet tank condensation is just a warning sign, for
a real problem, which may be as simple as a leaky flap
valve, or your tenant taking a lot of hot baths and leaving
the water in the tub to cool (for it to warm the house in
winter). Or, it may be a warning sign of a much bigger
problem, like a water leak in a crawlspace. When there
is condensation on the toilet tank, there is ALWAYS
condensation on other cold surfaces, and condesation
on organic materials (like structural wood) feeds mold
rot and mildew. So, solve the problem, Do not cover
it up with tank insulation, or wasting hot water..
Posted by: "jeffinvero65" jeffinvero@hotmail.com
> the water is colder...throw him out.. you really want
> a tenant like that? complain complain.
Hi Jeff;
Wow! They may be a complaining tenant. Some can
be annoying. But, it is important to determine what is
actually happening. It is good for the tenant to let Ron
know that this is happening, so that Ron can determine
the cause. It may be something the tenant is doing, and
Ron can advise them on how to prevent it. Or, it may
be caused by something that is malfunctioning, and Ron
can fix that. But, if there is condensation, the tenant
telling Ron about it, is not causing it. It is sure not
grounds for evicting a paying tenant.
-Laren Corie-
Natural Solar Building Design and
Solar Heating/Natural Cooling/Energy
Efficiency Consultation Since 1975
www.ThermalAttic.com (many new
photos and pages, coming soon)
Read my Solar house design articles in:
-Energy Self-Sufficiency Newsletter-
www.essnmag.com
Home base-LittleHouses YahooGroup
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LittleHouses/
Founder-WoodGas - Power from wood
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WoodGas
Founder-RefrigeratorAlternatives YahooGroup
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RefrigeratorAlternatives
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