My homeowner problem of the day: Condensation on my cold water pipes in th boiler laundry room. Any ideas why?

Armaflex in your friend

Chilled water running through the pipe and the air surrounding it is room temperature. Same thing happens to airducts in sealed ceilings but not as bad.

 

Measure the pipe. Measure the footage. Go to Home Depot and buy armaflex or a copy cat. They have self sealing if you don't want to glue. I'll find you a pattern for cutting the 90's and 45's if you need them

Armaflex in your friend

+1

 

That's what i used.

Is your dryer exhaust duct leaking?

humidty in the basement is condensing on the cold pipes.

 

Soultions - insulate the pipes , address the humidity issues in your basement. 

You have some choices:

 

Warm the water up...not practical

reduce the humidity in the room...expensive

Insulate the cold water pipes from the surrounding environment.    Ding ding ding, we have a winner.

 

Pipe insulation will pretty much completely eliminate all that condensation.   It's why your AC refrigerant lines are insulated.

Dryer vent may be leaking. It has been running all morning. I have a dehumidifier in the basement adjacent to the boiler room. I'll move it in there for now I suppose. Another project. Argh.

Thanks for the input guys.

The ground (and subsequently the incoming water) is still very cold.  The recent warmer weather has also been accompanied by a lot of rain and humidity, causing condensation on the pipes.  At my house, the tank on the toilet is doing the same thing, and dripping away on the floor of the bathroom.  You can insulate the pipes, but you cant really insulate the toilet. 

Dryer vent may be leaking. It has been running all morning. I have a dehumidifier in the basement adjacent to the boiler room. I'll move it in there for now I suppose. Another project. Argh.

get used to it- houses are one big on going project

Fix dryer vent first, especially if you have a gas dryer.

 

Then insulated cold water pipes.

The ground (and subsequently the incoming water) is still very cold.  The recent warmer weather has also been accompanied by a lot of rain and humidity, causing condensation on the pipes.  At my house, the tank on the toilet is doing the same thing, and dripping away on the floor of the bathroom.  You can insulate the pipes, but you cant really insulate the toilet. 

 

Get a pressure assist toilet.

 At my house, the tank on the toilet is doing the same thing, and dripping away on the floor of the bathroom.  You can insulate the pipes, but you cant really insulate the toilet. 

 

Sure you can. Get some 3/8 foam sheet insulation and epoxy it to the inside of the tank.

Years ago when I renovated my bathroom I bought a Kholer toilet with an insulated tank. Works fine.

Fix dryer vent first. Chances are you won't need to insulate anything after that.

Also, check for leaks. I see condensation very often when there is toilet leak. Sometimes you can't even hear a flapper leak, depending on the type of fill valve.

Insulation is most likely solving a symptom not the problem.  As others have said fix the dryer vent leak and then the problem may no longer exist.

I'll investigate when I get home. Thanks again.

Sweating pipes is very common in basements and like was said insulate them you should be fine and make sure your dryer vent is tight.

  Dehumidifiers draw some serious energy. Don't leave it on full time. use the  timer settings if you have them

BTW, insulating pipes can make them gain or lose heat faster instead of slower. Since I doubt you will do the calculations, be sure to read the label for the pipe size, application, and temperature range.

Check the RH in your basement - I'll bet it's over 60%.

It's simple water coming out of the ground into the house is approximately 55°F the inside temperature of the average home is about 70°F. Add humidity in the air and it condenses on your colder pipe. This is how a dehumidifier actually works. To stop it armarflex pipe insulation. Hanover supply on Sussex turnpike sells it.

 

Also in the picture I noticed that 3/4" copper pipe is type M. be ready to replace that one day, type M is approved for water supply, but in your town with the low PH level of the water it dosen't last more than 10 years before the pinholes start. Whenever you replace a pipe with copper put type L back in its place.

 

The ground (and subsequently the incoming water) is still very cold. The recent warmer weather has also been accompanied by a lot of rain and humidity, causing condensation on the pipes. At my house, the tank on the toilet is doing the same thing, and dripping away on the floor of the bathroom. You can insulate the pipes, but you cant really insulate the toilet.

As stated above:

 

1. buy a power flush toilet. (They're great until you flush it at 2am and wake everyone in your house up)

 

2. Buy an foam insulated toilet tank they make them for most popular models.

 

3. Use central air conditioning.

 

4. Install a thermostatic mixing valve, run a hot line to it. then fill the toilet with mixed warm water instead of cold.

 

Insulation is most likely solving a symptom not the problem. As others have said fix the dryer vent leak and then the problem may no longer exist.

It's actually in the National Standard Plumbing code that NJ has adopted as "our code". It says "all water supply pipes must be insulated if they're in an area where condensation can occur". Every basement qualifies for the most part, most aren't air conditioned.

It's simple water coming out of the ground into the house is approximately 55°F the inside temperature of the average home is about 70°F. Add humidity in the air and it condenses on your colder pipe. This is how a dehumidifier actually works. To stop it armarflex pipe insulation. Hanover supply on Sussex turnpike sells it.Also in the picture I noticed that 3/4" copper pipe is type M. be ready to replace that one day, type M is approved for water supply, but in your town with the low PH level of the water it dosen't last more than 10 years before the pinholes start. Whenever you replace a pipe with copper put type L back in its place.

Thank you. I'm running a dehumidifier in the basement. I'm hoping to be out of this money pit in 2-3 years. I'll insulate the pipe and hope it lasts till I'm out of here.

So I got around to checking the basement. Dryer exhaust wasn't connected properly. In the process of trying to reattach the pipe I think I found a sump pump pit underneath the dryer. A battle for tomorrow.

So I got around to checking the basement. Dryer exhaust wasn't connected properly. In the process of trying to reattach the pipe I think I found a sump pump pit underneath the dryer. A battle for tomorrow.

 

Is there a pump in it or is it just a mosquito hatchery?