Spotting Signs of Damp in Your Home
What are the Signs of Condensation?
- If you find that you have mould appearing on painted or wallpapered walls in an area that is not well ventilated.
- When you find running water on your walls or windows – if left untreated this can cause significant damage to the decorations of your property as it will lead to decay and severe staining.
- If you have a suspended floor, fungal decay may occur where condensation has accumulated in the timber floor.
- One of the least common forms of condensation is what is called ‘interstitial condensation’, which occurs when the dew point for the water is reached but it isn’t forming on the walls and is instead found within the building structure. Expert advice will need seeking as this type of damp can often be mistaken for penetrating or rising damp.
Preventing & Dealing with Damp in Your Home
In a lot of cases, damp can be treated easily and effectively with a few simple DIY repairs and products, so always look into this before you start looking for outside firms to conduct the work for you, as this could lead to unnecessary expense. However, don’t just leave damp untreated as this could lead to more significant damage to your property in the future.
Always be on the look out for those telltale signs of damp, as catching it early will help you to get the problem solved quickly and will also allow you to keep your property dry and warm. If you are getting damp but you aren’t sure where it is coming from then there are damp meters you can buy/rent that can help you identify just where the source of damp is.
Defeating Rising Damp
If you have found rising damp in your home, this will generally have come from an ineffective damp proof coursing in the floor or wall of your home. In most cases the damp will be coming from the bottom of the wall at the ground level. You will need to investigate whether your home has ever had damp proof coursing, and if it has, has it broken down, been covered by a solid floor, pathway or soil, or has it been damaged in another way?
Sometimes, your damp proof coursing may still be in perfect condition, but because a ‘bridge’ has been made over the damp proof course by a raised pathway or garden, the water is still penetrating into your home. In this case it should be easily rectified by digging away the soil or reducing the level of the pathway.
However, if you do find that simple DIY methods such as above do not resolve your damp issue, then you may need to have a new damp proof course installed in your home. In these cases it is vital that you seek professional advice from a trained surveyor who will be able to identify the problem and provide you with the best solution.
Overcoming Penetrating Damp
As this type of damp arises from water coming from the outside in, a good place to start is examining everything around and inside the property. Start with the rendering, downpipes, gutters, window frames and flashing. Check to see if the rendering is cracked and that any pointing in your home has no cracks in it and is still in a good condition.
Have a look at your downpipes and check that there is nothing blocking these, and check that your guttering is still in a reasonable condition as you may find this needs replacing.
The frames and glaze of your windows will also need checking to make sure they are still sealed and no gaps have appeared. Also check your window sills for a drip groove which should be located underneath the sill, this helps to get rid of the rainwater without it dripping down the property wall. You may find that these are blocked with cement, dirt or moss and you will need to give these a thorough clean. If you find that these have been worn away, you will need to have them replaced.
If your brickwork appears to be the source of your damp problems, having become porous, there are waterproofing fluids available for external walls, which can give it a new layer of waterproofing. This needs painting on once all of your brickwork is totally dry, and you may find it helps with heat loss from your home too.
Stopping Condensation
In some cases condensation can become an issue when it continues to persist; in these cases it is recommended to seek the advice of a specialist surveyor who should be able to pinpoint where the problem is coming from and give advice on what are the best remedies. There are a couple of things that may be proposed to help stop condensation:
Extractor Fans
These can be installed in your bathroom or kitchen where the most condensation will be created in your home by things such as showering or cooking. The extractor fan will help carry away any of the air that contains moisture and is one of the more cost-effective of options. If you have a newer home you will probably find that these are already installed as they have become part of the building regulations.
There are fans available that have a heat exchanger installed within them; this will continue to remove the condensation effectively whilst also insuring that less heat is lost from your home by this ventilation. Additionally, some extractor fans have a humidistat, which will control how the fan is operating depending on the humidity in which it is in.
Dehumidifiers
These can be installed to cool and remove moisture from the air, before they warm this to re-circulate it. This will help to control the amount of moisture that is in the air, providing an alternative way of ventilating and heating your home if you have condensation. These are also good if you have a one-off problem with condensation, such as a leak that is being fixed.
Heating
Just by warming up your home, you are not going to find a solution to your problem, both practically and cost-effectively. Where condensation is appearing these cold surfaces need eliminating, because even with heat in your home, as soon as it starts to cool off the condensation will reappear. Therefore, the cause of action must involve a removal of moisture from the atmosphere and getting rid of cold surfaces.
Heating & Ventilation
This is key to getting rid of your condensation, and should improve the living conditions your find yourself in. Try to get a constant background heat in your home as this will help maintain the warmth of your home and prevent cold surfaces compared to having the heating on intermittently.
Positive Pressure Condensation Control Units
These may be recommended in some cases, whereby the device will be used to take dryer air, which is often found in roof spaces or lofts and mix it in with the air in your property. This will often be carried out at a low rate, which will effectively reduce the amount of moisture in the air, while also removing moist air from any natural leaks.
If you do think your home is damp but can’t identify the source of the problem, then you should always seek help and advice from a qualified surveyor who will be able to evaluate the problem and help you find a cost-effective solution.
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