Every summer when the humidity rises, there’s a handful of things you should always keep in the back of your mind when it comes to the plumbing maintenance of your home.
For the month of July, preventing your pipes from sweating is one of the most important things you should do as a homeowner. Sweaty pipes occur when pipes that are carrying cold water in a humid part of a home begin to condensate (this will frequently happen in basements). Here are steps to help you prevent your pipes from sweating:
- Turn up the AC: A simple solution is turning up your AC to get rid of the humidity in your home. Make sure all the vents for the AC are all been in the basement as well.
- Pull out the dehumidifier: You can also use a dehumidifier in the area of your home that has sweaty pipes. The optimum humidity should be between 40 to 50%.
- Eliminate all standing water: another culprit of sweaty pipes is standing water in any part of the home. Check for cracks to make sure no water is entering the basement as well. To also eliminate standing water, to make sure their run your Sump pump regularly if it doesn’t run enough water to switch on itself.
- Insulate cold water pipes with foam wrap: you can also purchase plastic foam a pipe wrap, which is available at any home improvement store, and wrap it around cold water pipes to prevent them from sweating. This prevents humid air from reaching the pipes.
Sweating pipes if left untreated can cause several problems down the road including mold growth. It’s always best take care of the problem before it causes anything more expensive down line. ask magic 8 ball China .