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Some fast facts about adults age 55+ aging in place in their homes. Article By Jeanne Huber Does your toilet have the cold sweats? Here’s how to fix condensation on a toilet tank before the dripping water rots out your bathroom floor.
If you’ve noticed what happens to an iced drink on a humid summer day, you’ll have an idea why your toilet is sweaty. When warm, damp air hits a cold surface, condensation forms. Dripping off a toilet tank, this moisture can keep bathroom flooring damp for days, ruining the flooring and even rotting out the subfloor and floor framing. To prevent these problems, you can start with simple, cheap fixes that may help, or fast-forward to more costly but surer solutions. Install a Tray Just as you slip a coaster under a sweaty glass to prevent condensation from leaving a wet ring, you can install a drip tray under the toilet tank to catch the excess moisture. It isn’t very attractive, and you’ll need to empty and clean it regularly. But as a cheap fix (about $18), it does buy you time to figure out a better solution. Change Habits If family members cooperate, you might be able to cure a sweaty toilet without spending any money.
Check the Flapper Water trickling through a toilet not only wastes water and adds to utility bills, but also makes the tank colder — and more susceptible to sweating. That’s because your tank is constantly refilling itself with cool water. To check whether the flap is sealing, put a few drops of food coloring into the tank and wait an hour or so. If the color appears in the bowl, replace the valve and flapper — about $20 if you do it yourself. (First, be sure the fix isn’t even simpler, such as untangling the lift chain.) Insulate the Tank If the flapper isn’t the culprit, you can keep the tank from getting cold by insulating its interior. Some hardware stores and home centers sell do-it-yourself kits for about $20. The downside? They’re a pain to install. You’ll need to empty the tank, cut the insulating foam panels to fit, then glue them to the interior. Install a New Toilet Instead of investing a lot of time in retrofitting an old toilet, you’re probably better off installing a new low-flow toilet that uses less water at each flush. That’ll keep cold-water tank refills to a minimum and reduce the sweats. A toilet that carries the Environmental Protection Agency’s Water Sense label costs about $200. If you don’t feel up to installing it yourself, the average installation costs about $375. Or, get a model with factory-installed tank insulation. Models range from $320 to $555. One money-saving DIY option is to replace only the tank, subbing in an insulated tank ($50 to $300) for your old tank. That way, you won’t have to touch the yucky wax ring under the toilet bowl, as you would if you were replacing the entire toilet. Install an Anti-Sweat Valve An anti-sweat valve, also known as a mixing valve, is a $24 to $47 plumbing part that introduces a little warm water to the cold water feeding into the toilet tank. Plumbers swear by it as one solution that always works. The valve can be a good option for a toilet over a basement where plumbing pipes are easily accessible. Otherwise, you might have to open up walls or ceiling finishes to install the valve and link it to a hot water line. Depending on the amount of work, you may need to pay a plumber to install a mixing valve. If you’ve tried everything else to fix your sweating toilet, that’s sure to be less than what you’d spend to fix a rotten floor. Article by Lisa Kaplan Gordon Want summer comfort but hate the AC? Follow these tips on how to keep your house cool without frosty air conditioning.
There’s so much to love about air conditioning. First and foremost, it keeps you cool on sweltering summer days. But AC does have downsides. It drives up your utility bills and can cause AC wars with family members, each of whom has a different perception of the ideal temperature. Even AC advocates admit that inside spaces can get a little too frosty with AC. So, here are tips to stay cool during warm weather — at least some of the time — without AC: When sunlight enters your house, it turns into heat. You’ll keep your house cooler if you reduce solar heat gain by blocking sunlight. Close the drapes: Line them with light-colored fabric that reflects the sun, and close them during the hottest part of the day. Let them pillow onto the floor to block air movement. Add awnings: Install them on south-facing windows to reduce solar heat gain by 65% and west-facing windows for a 77% solar heat gain reduction, says the U.S. Department of Energy. Install shutters: Interior and exterior shutters not only reduce heat gain and loss, but they also add security and protect against bad weather. Interior shutters with adjustable slats let you control how much sun you let in. Apply high-reflectivity window film: Install energy-saving window films on east- and west-facing windows, which will keep you cool in summer, and let in warming sun in the winter. Mirror-like films are more effective than colored transparent films. Open Those Windows Be sure to open windows when the outside temperature is lower than the inside. Cool air helps lower the temps of everything — walls, floors, furniture — that will absorb heat as temps rise, helping inside air stay cooler longer. To create cross-ventilation, open windows on opposite sides of the house. Good ventilation helps reduce volatile organic compounds and can prevent mold. Turn Up Fans Portable fans: At night, place fans in open windows to move cool air. In the day, put fans where you feel their cooling breezes (moving air evaporates perspiration and lowers your body temperature). To get extra cool, place glasses or bowls of ice water in front of fans, which will chill the moving air. Ceiling fans: For maximum cooling effect, make sure ceiling fans spin in the direction that pushes air down, rather than sucks it up. Be sure to turn off fans when you’re not in the room, because fan motors give off heat, too. Whole house fans: A whole-house fan ($600 to $2,300, including installation) exhausts hot inside air out through roof vents. Make sure your windows are open when you run a whole-house fan. Power Down Appliances You’ll save money and reduce heat output by turning off appliances you’re not using, particularly your computer and television. Powering down multiple appliances is easier if you connect them to the same power strip. Don’t use heat- and steam-generating appliances — ranges, ovens, washers, dryers — during the hottest part of the day. In fact, take advantage of the heat by drying clothes outside on a line, unless doing to will violate homeowners association rules. Plant Trees and Vines These green house-coolers shade your home’s exterior and keep sunlight out of windows. Plant them by west-facing walls, where the sun is strongest. Deciduous trees, which leaf out in spring and drop leaves in fall, are best because they provide shade in summer, then let in sun when temperatures drop in autumn. Select trees that are native to your area, which have a better chance of surviving. When planting, determine the height, canopy width, and root spread of the mature tree and plant accordingly. Climbing vines, such as ivy and Virginia creeper, also are good outside insulators. To prevent vine rootlets or tendrils from compromising your siding, grow them on trellises or wires about six inches away from the house. Speaking of shade, here are smart, inexpensive ideas for shading your patio. Want more tips for staying cool this summer? Insulate your garage door to prevent heat buildup. |
AuthorJason Gelios is a Husband and Father. After that, a Top Producing REALTOR®, Author of the books 'Think like a REALTOR®' and 'Beating The Force Of Average', Creator of The AskJasonGelios Real Estate Show and Expert Media Contributor to media outlets across the country. Archives
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