Don't Sweat Sweaty Pipes

Do you have puddles of water on your basement floor due to sweating pipes? If you are inconvenienced (to say the least) by this situation, take heart because you are not alone with this problem. Sweating pipes in the basement is a very common predicament experienced by most Toronto homeowners.

The truth is, pipe sweating is just an indication of extreme dampness or humidity in your basement. Even when there are no leaks in your basement, large amounts of water vapor can enter it, and, eager to become water again, latches on to any cold surface around. You guessed it right — water pipes are the easiest targets. Your cold water pipes need to “sweat out” or condense the moisture out of your damp basement.

But enough of the lecture, and on with the solutions. What steps can you take to stop sweating pipes in the basement? Here are five common solutions to your problem:

• Use a dehumidifier. Continuously running a dehumidifier in your basement can help a lot in lowering the humidity. The less humid your basement, the less likely your pipes will sweat. Removing the excess dampness in your Toronto basement can also get rid of unhealthy air, allowing you and your family to breathe better air.
• Use foam insulation. By wrapping your cold pipes, you get right to the heart of the matter by not letting moisture reach them in the first place! Toronto home improvement stores carry foam-pipe insulation that can easily slip right over your pipes. This material is available in various lengths and can be easily cut with a pair of scissors. You don’t even need to wrap all fifty meters or so of pipe in your house. Just do it for those easy-to-reach pipes and you will see a significant improvement.
• Get rid of all leaks in the basement. Even without leaks, moisture can get in — just imagine how the situation can worsen if you do have cracks or openings in your basement. For minor leaks, waterproofing compounds will do, while hydraulic cement is best for actively leaking areas. Make sure all plumbing problems within the house are taken care of, even if it is necessary to call your Toronto plumber to do so. Dampness can come from both outside and inside the house.
• Check your house’s foundations and exterior walls. If you have a problem with your house’s foundations on top of having cracks in your basement walls, this will compound your moisture problems. For instance, an ineffective gutter system — or the lack of one — can let water pool at your Toronto home’s foundations right outside your basement. Make sure rainwater is directed away from your house, not towards it. If the ground around your house is sloped towards the foundations, that could also be another cause of moisture problems in your basement.
• Apply waterproofing compound on walls and floors. To further prevent unwanted moisture from entering your basement, you can apply waterproofing compound on walls and floors even before any leaks are detected. Choose a high-quality waterproofing product that will effectively stop water from coming in — not just one that protects from surface moisture the way a sealer does. Also, use a waterproofer that is suitable for sealing walls under water pressure.

Keep in mind that even doing just one or two of these steps can produce noticeable improvements. Used together, the effects can be tremendous.