In my practice, working as a plumber, sweating pipes are common. It mainly occurs due to the most common mistakes. Which we will now consider. And also I will convey to you information on how to deal with this scourge. We will conduct an educational program from a specialist.
The first step is to understand what kind of phenomenon is happening in our land:
Condensate (lat. condensatus - condensed, condensed) is a product of condensation of the vaporous state of liquids, that is, the product of the transition of a substance when cooled from a gaseous to a liquid form. In other words, condensate is a liquid formed when a vapor or gas condenses.
Based on materials from the site: ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Should you deal with condensation?
Unambiguously YES, the fact is that raw pipes, and even in a warm room, are a wonderful, just ideal place for the development of mold and mildew. Accordingly, pipes and places where moisture enters begin to be covered with a light, often black mass. Congratulations... New life develops in these places.
What is the harm caused by condensation?
- Mold adversely affects the respiratory tract of living organisms. The spores of these fungi have a negative effect on the lungs. Which significantly affects the health of people, as well as pets.
- Damp pipes deteriorate faster. Iron pipes rust, drastically reducing their service life. Brass fittings oxidize, which also affects the reliability of the system.
- Condensation is exhausting. How do you ask? Constant cleaning of moisture in confined spaces (toilet, bath). Not an excellent procedure. What affects the condition of the householder.
How to get rid of condensation on pipes and toilet cistern?
- Check the ventilation. It is important that there is a constant flow of air into the toilet or bath. Thus, the moisture that is in the air will not have time to cool down and precipitate, condensate. If there is no ventilation, call the specialists from the house management. Let them solve the problem, perhaps the ventilation shafts are blocked, teenage hooligans throw garbage in them. Or a neighbor made redevelopment and deliberately closed these technological "tunnels". In fact, there are many reasons. Sometimes, the doors are very tightly closed in sanitary units, there are even sealing rubber bands in them. That naturally disrupt the natural flow of air and the formation of moisture on the pipes. In this case, keep the door ajar. If there is no ventilation at all, then you can put a fan on the hood.
- Check the health of the toilet cistern. In my practice, such situations were common. If the toilet tank leaks a little, which is imperceptible to the eye, especially to a pensioner. Then there is a constant change of water. The cold one comes to the apartment, not having time to warm up from the environment in the bathroom. Which leads to droplets of liquid falling out on cold surfaces. This is especially noticeable at the border of the liquid in the toilet cistern. How to fix? Replace the foot valve.
If the above steps do not solve the problem, then the following things should be done:
- Iron pipes? Change to polymer. The fact is that metals have high heat transfer characteristics. They cool instantly, resulting in faster condensation. Plastic pipes have low thermal conductivity, which delays the formation of excess moisture on their surfaces.
- Insulate the pipes, for this there are many special materials in plumbing stores. What does insulation give? The dew point is displaced into the material itself, usually polyethylene foam. That does not allow moisture to fall out on the surfaces of the water supply system.