Cistern Condensation

Baggiebird1nil

Does anyone have any advice as this problem is driving me nuts?
Whenever the heating is on the cistern on our toilet gets covered in condensation which then runs down underneath and splashes all over the floor.
I have tried turning the radiator down and leaving the window open a little (not really a good idea as bathroom is downstairs and we are out at work all day).
I have put lagging on the cold water pipes
We have a fan in the bathroom that stays on for 10 minutes when you turn the light off.

I am assuming that the water that's going into the cistern is much colder than the cistern wall (not bad thinking for a woman!)

ariba10

True. The only cure is. Dry the air or warm the suface the water condenses out on.

Mr_Meanie

You used to be able to buy an insulation kit to stick inside the cistern which reduced the condensation but I haven’t seen them for sale recently.

Mikeyorks

Baggiebird1nil wrote:

I am assuming that the water that's going into the cistern is much colder than the cistern wall (not bad thinking for a woman!)

As a woman then .. you also have the solution.;) Knit an oversize one of those hideous dolls that are used to cover the spare loo roll - and pull it down over the whole cistern:D

Seriously .. never found a solution to this, other than to stop flushing the loo. As it's the regular intake of new cold water that magnifies the problem. Last house - we had water direct from a bore hole, which was absolutely freezing from this time of year (through to June!) and the cistern just poured. This house is normal mains supply, and the problem is far less.

But if you're really desperate - get knitting! Either the oversize loo roll cover or a mile of scarf - and double wrap it around the last 1/2 mile of supply pipe into your house.

Steve_xx

The solution then is to warm the water a little. A heater for a tropical fish tank would be ideal for this as it is normally possible to set them at about room temperature.

Another solution, though more costly, would be to replace the cistern with a plastic one.

Poppycat

WE get this problem a lot. The cistern is made off that old plastic I think bakerlite or something, certianly resembles it. I painted it but I often get mold underneath and along the water pipe.

Perhaps pour some luke warm water in the cistern may help. I might try that see if it works

dippy-dora_2

You could try putting a mat down underneath at the back of the loo just for now to save your floor getting damaged?. Sorry can't help much, I did used to have this problem without radiaters in a cold bathroom, have got radiaters now and a warm room and don't get this problem anymore, which sounds like the reverse to your problem.

navig8r

What you have is warm moist air and it will always seek out the coldest place to condense ..in your case the toilet ..If you make that surface warmer the air will find the next coldest place in which to turn into water where it may cause damage or mould. In fact what your cistern has become is a dehumidifier with the floor becoming collection container . I would consider buying the genuine article ,at least then you could tip the water away from the container and not mop it from the floor :rotfl: ..
I bought an Ebac for my daughters flat two weeks ago and the diff is amazing ,in fact much so that I have bought one for my house which I did not think had that much of a problem...until I emptied the container after running for 10 hours ..2 litres :eek:

Dave

ozskin

A common problem and one that we have found solutions for. There are a few manufacturers that make cisterns with an insulated plastic which seperates the water from the ceramic and hence no condensation. These do tend to be at the designer and expensive end and we have sold a few. Also consider back to wall pans with concealed cisterns. Again there are manufacturers with plastic insulated cisterns but without the high price tag attached and as the cistern is concealed you will eliminate the problem. Try to re-route the supply so it is not comming from an external cold source and insulate the supply pipe where necessary. With care and caution you can buy thin foam 'wallpaper', which you can line the internal of the cistern with using silicone sealant, messy but effective.