Plumbing – Could insulation around copper pipes cause condensation problems

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Should you insulate hot water pipe (copper) located in an attic?

I live in Louisiana, where it rarely gets cold. The plumbers insulated the hot water pipe from the tankless water heater. Now condensation is building up between the pipe and insulation so bad, it leaked onto the Sheetrock over the laundry room causing damage. The plumbers tried to blame it on the rain, but the roofer said the roof is fine. Since I took off the insulation, the condensation is gone (and it has rained everyday). The Plumbers said rain made the insulation around the pipe wet, but the condensation is ony inside the insulation around the pipe. There is no water damage anywhere else.

Best Answer

Insulation on pipes should prevent moisture in the air from condensing on the pipes, by preventing the air from coming into contact with the pipes. What you are experiencing could be caused by a few things.

  • Insulation was not installed properly, and is not preventing the moist air from contacting the pipe.
  • Condensation is forming on an un-insulated section of the pipe, and is flowing along the pipe into the insulation.
  • The roof is indeed leaking.
  • A leak has formed somewhere along the pipe (remember, there is water in them there pipes).

But why don't I see the problem when I remove the insulation?

Removing the insulation may be allowing the moisture to evaporate before it can build up and cause problems. the insulation could have been preventing evaporation, which allowed a noticeable amount of water to build up inside of it. Once the insulation reached its saturation point, the water had nowhere to go but onto the floor.

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