Water Pipe Insulators

The black tube is the insulator.

My uncle we will call him 'K', came to stay with me a few months ago,  When he took a shower, it took FOREVER for the hot water to reach my shower. Now, I personally do not take showers (I know, I know some people think it's gross).  However, I need to sit in the water to get warm.  If I take a shower it doesn't matter how hot I make the water I am still cold, leading to a lot of water and electricity waste.  Anyway, our basement is not finished yet leaving the entire area open to the cold dampness of down under.  Uncle 'K' suggested that I put Styrofoam covers on the pipes. 



Insulate & Weatherize


This is to keep them warm instead of the pipes cooling down, and cooling down the hot water before it reaches the shower.  I didn't think it would make as big of a difference as it did.  Now, when I turn the hot water on it takes 10-15 seconds for it to get hot as opposed to the 45 seconds it used to. 

Make sure you get the right size for your pipes!



This means in the long run I am saving water and electricity. I purchased the pipe covers at Lowe's for just under a dollar for each cover. We used about 61 feet of the Styrofoam covers, covering all of the hot water pipes. We picked the pre-slit ones and used electrical tape to keep them on. Eventually, we will cover all of the cold water pipes too.