Do Your Pipes Sweat?

As summer approaches and the days become more humid, the process of changing our closets over to readily available summer wear instead of winter, requires storing them away in a safe, dry space, until changing seasons require their retrieval. Often times this ‘safe, dry place’ is the basement. Safety is often a condition gleaned from experience. Memories of a damp basement with wet cardboard boxes in storage and wet laundry are vividly recalled by anyone who has had such an experience.

When a leaky water line goes too long unnoticed it can create quite a bit of damage. However, when no source of leakage is found, and a further exhaustive search for a loose fitting or joint returns void, where do you look for next for the source of water? If the basement was not flooded and the damage to your stored goods was minimal, that source of water may not be from inside the pipes, but outside. Your water pipes may be “sweating!”

When it is hot and humid, the water is colder inside the pipe than out, drops of water condensation form along and under the plumbing pipes; so much so, that they can actually drip as though there was a small leak in that pipe.

Self-adhesive tapes of pipe insulation can be purchased to wrap around the pipes, effectively catching the drips, to help control the moisture. Make sure to wipe the pipes dry before applying and to cover the fittings and joints as well. Should you still discover a problem with excessive water, make sure that you call to your local plumbing professional.