condensation on toilet cistern

[dajome]

Hi folks,
Any ideas on how I can stop constant heavy condensation on a toilet cistern - so much that the floor under the cistern is constantly wet. The toilet unit is a bog standard (pardon the pun) close coupled toilet, water supply off the rising main. Fairly good ventilation as the door is rarely closed, radiator on most of the time in the winter months. I would normally only expect condensation after someone had used the bath or shower???
Many thanks
Dave

 

[sonray ltd]

bathroom warm/hot incoming mains very cold.

years ago it was known to paint the inside of the cistern with bitumen paint to stop condensation.

 

[dajome]

The bathroom's no warmer than any others - not sure if their incoming is colder than usual - no reason it should be. I'll get them to check the neighbour's to see if they have a similar problem. If no other options, may try the bitumen idea, thanks

 

[sonray ltd]

if its fed direct from the mains the mains pipe can alter from day to day depending on the outside weather ground temp.

 

[leakylea]

is the ball valve dripping constantly,this will keep water main at its coldest at all times,increasing the chance of condensation, is the bathroom fully tiled? this will increase condensation, the house being warm can increase condensation,

 

[Phil]

I've heard you can use Fairy liquid on the outside of the cistern to stop water collecting.

I'm sceptical though .

 

[dajome]

Thanks for the input everyone. no real solutions by the sound of it, though I might try the fairy liquid as a quick'n'easy one. I can see how painting the cistern interior would work as it would provide a small amount of heat insulation. I guess this is just a new problem facing modern builds - mains fed water due to combi's being installed everywhere and warm bathrooms due to CH.

 

[wigz]

got the same prob moved into a new flat recently and the condensation is quite bad.seems to only show when you have a bath or shower.i would have thought lagging the pipes well would stop it a little, but the pipes are all in the ducting cant even see if theres lagging used.our bathroom will be wrecked before long due to the water which will cause damp and rot.

 

[tenor]

Saw on TV recently, a polystyrene liner which is fitted inside the cistern but, unfortunately cant remember prog or indeed nationality ( may have been Holmes on homes, canadian). Great idea. Why cant manufacturers do pre-lagged like on immersion cylinders ? have you tried using or borrowing a dehumidifier ? seems the prob is the ammount of water vapour in the air. Simple measures like using lids on pans and putting a little cold water in bath before letting the really hot, steamy stuff in suppresses the steam a fair bit and makes a fair difference in our house.

 

[number1]

Hi folks,
Any ideas on how I can stop constant heavy condensation on a toilet cistern - so much that the floor under the cistern is constantly wet. The toilet unit is a bog standard (pardon the pun) close coupled toilet, water supply off the rising main. Fairly good ventilation as the door is rarely closed, radiator on most of the time in the winter months. I would normally only expect condensation after someone had used the bath or shower???
Many thanks
Dave

i have the same problem as well

 

[dave1]

i had this problem in a new build property the condensation was so bad ended up having to renew flooring and the wooden floor underneath, in my experiance i found insulating the main will help, also i found that these new builds the bathrooms have very little ventilation sometimes no windows, look into getting a decent fan i think they may do one with some sort of humidifier built in.

 

[PLUMB111]

One of the main reasons is that the ballvalve is letting bye, which intern does not allow the cisturn water to come up to some sort of room temp.
It only needs the smallest of drips.

 

[REDSAW]

i dont know what your bathroom looks or is situated like, flooring piping etc.
but if you could make a seperate terminated feed direct to your cistern (ie serving no taps), why not re-pipe this feed close to the rad pipe return to pre-warm the cold feed as it enters the bathroom thus 'ballancing' the temp difference?.
i assume it only condensates in winter where your heating is normally on.

 

[LUCIALIA]

Has anyone tried the bitumen solution or have another quick & easy solution?

 

[bobpape]

Hi Folks

Condensation occurs in "areas of least air movement" so if you encourage
some air movement around the cistern either natural or forced it should
solve the problem.

 

[billybongo]

On the subject of water temperature , is this why a lot of toilet cisterns used to be tank fed ? as the temp would warm slightly in the storage tank and maybe cut down on condensation , just a thought

 

[oldmanriver]

I've heard of people sticking a lining to the cistern interior by using a thin yoga mat cut to size. Bit of a chore but if space permits it seems to work. If the condensation is bad enough to warrant the effort it may be worth a go.

 

[flat pack]

hi stick a fish tank heater in it
or hot water tank jacket
or put a cold water tank installation in and have some store water
or put with it
goood luck

 

[migoplumber]

flat pack, that answer is as good as the video!!!

you must be joking, so i know you wont take offense.

shaun

 

[Dannypipe]

Just plumb it up to the hot supply!!!

 

[rpm]

Some Canadian toilet cisterns come fitted with a polystyrene liner which stops condensation although I think it is mainly to stop it freezing in winter

Reckon it`s fixed after 6yrs! lol