Read our guide for help diagnosing and treating wet rot. Generally rising damp is first noticed by the damage it causes to the internal walls of a building. Plaster and paint can deteriorate and any wallpaper tends to loosen.
A visible stain often appears on the wall in the form of a tide mark at the point where the ground water has reached. You may also see salts blooming on the internal surface. This is something often associated with rising damp and will lead to the debonding of paints and even plaster work.
Externally, mortar may crumble and white salt stains may appear on the walls. We will go into the common signs of rising damp in more detail later in the guide.
Most buildings have some form of barrier installed at the lower level of the wall to prevent water rising up in this way.
It is called a damp proof course DPC. These can be made of non-absorbant, water-resistant materials such as slate, bitumen and plastic depending on the period the property was built.
Sometimes these physical DPCs may fail over time; in older houses they may not exist at all. Traditional slate damp proof course. Photograph: Steve Wookey. This is where the damp from the ground is able to travel up past the DPC because of a construction fault. H igh external ground levels causing rising damp on the window wall.
The wall to the left has had the earth removed to a lower level. At this point it's worth addressing the debate around whether rising damp exists or not. There is a long-standing debate, both online and off, where people question if rising damp is real. The main reason that this debate continues to rage is the all-too-common misdiagnosis of rising damp. There are inexperienced and underqualified surveyors and tradesmen out there that incorrectly diagnose rising damp.
When the diagnosis is wrong, it means that the treatment fails and the 'damp' issue remains. Rising damp is often confused with damp caused by condensation - this is one of the most common reasons for misdiagnosis. In some other cases, there is a correct diagnosis of rising damp but the contractor fails to treat it.
In most cases, this involves a failure to successfully inject a chemical DPC cream. Unsurprisingly, the incorrectly installed chemical DPC doesn't work. With both of these situations, you end up with a dissatisfied and often angry customer, and an industry that suffers. The truth is that rising damp does exist and it does affect some houses. It is a genuine and serious problem that requires fixing with care and attention by qualified professionals.
Hopefully, our guide will help with this. Most people first notice an issue with rising damp on internal walls. Rising damp often results in tide marks on your internal walls up to the height where the water has reached. In most cases, these tide mark stains appear up to a metre above the skirting board.
In some very rare cases, water can travel beyond this point. The height the water reaches depends on several key factors. These include the pore structure of the bricks and mortar and the rate of evaporation.
Masonry containing a high proportion of fine pores will allow the water to rise higher than one with less pores. Rising damp can occur up to 1. The water from the ground often contains salts that are then deposited on the wall when the water evaporates. These salts can cause the paint to bubble and a white fluffy deposit to be left on the surface. There are two main types of salt - sulphates which result in crusty white patches and invisible hygroscopic salts known as nitrates and chlorides.
The hygroscopic salts continue to draw moisture and therefore must be treated. Salts debonding the paint work - if you look at the top of the bubble you will see the white fluffy salt deposit. Rising damp in internal walls is caused by the same movement of ground water up through the brickwork by capillary action.
Rising damp can affect both internal and external walls. When looking for evidence of rising damp on external walls, again you should keep an eye out for tide marks. You may also see some of the mortar crumbling between the bricks or stonework and salt deposits too.
Rising damp is a relatively rare form of damp and treatment will only work if it is correctly diagnosed. This leaves one other potential culprit — condensation. Condensation is caused when the air indoors cannot hold any more moisture. Cooking, showering and drying clothes indoors all create humidity. Without adequate ventilation, excess moisture occurs.
Taking some simple steps can help reduce the build-up of condensation. Drying washing outside, whenever possible, is always helpful. Putting lids on saucepans, putting the fan on and opening a window when cooking is another top tip. Close the door to prevent moisture spreading throughout the house. When you are not cooking, leave doors open. This will improve air circulation. Open windows and ventilate rooms for 15 minutes every day.
The trick is to allow a clean flow of air throughout the house on a daily basis. Keep up with these measures. If you stop doing them, you reduce the ventilation around the home again. This runs the risk of excess moisture occurring.
This, in turn, will lead to the build-up of condensation. This is what causes mould to develop. With it comes the unpleasantness of the associated smells.
Once you have identified and treated the causes of moisture in the home you can get rid of the mould. Remember, it is the mould that is most likely to be the source of the unpleasant smell. In many cases, you will be able to remove the mould yourself. However, there are cases when you need to get a professional to remove it. You can remove mould caused by condensation covering an area of less than 1 metre squared. Wear goggles, a mask and rubber gloves.
This will protect you from harmful mould spores. You should keep doors closed to stop spores spreading. In the affected room, open the windows to improve the ventilation. Black mold has a distinct dried- urine smell that can be quite strong depending on the intensity of the proliferation.
If you smell the musty urine scent as a diffuse odor throughout your house, you may have mold growing in your vents or in multiple places. There are a few ways to rid the musty smell in the kitchen cabinets, according to Molly Maid. Wipe down the inside with a mix of one part rubbing alcohol to one part vinegar and water with a few drops of mild dishwashing liquid.
Make a thick paste of baking soda and warm water to take out tough stains. Sprinkle baking soda on the area that is covered with moisture. Baking soda will absorb the moisture.
This method is commonly used to absorb moisture from carpets and rugs. Once the baking soda has sat for several hours, simply vacuum it up. The most common differentiator between rising and penetrative damp is the height at which it occurs. Rising damp will only occur up to a metre from the ground, whereas penetrating damp can occur anywhere. What does rising damp smell like?
Category: home and garden home appliances. It is hard to distinguish the smell of rising damp from other forms of damp in that it's a damp and musty smell. Can rising damp be fixed? Repairing Rising Damp. Would you buy a house with rising damp? Can rising damp dry out? Is Rising Damp covered by home insurance? How high does rising damp go? Does opening windows reduce damp?
Will a dehumidifier help with rising damp? Will a dehumidifier get rid of musty smell? Does musty smell mean mold? How do I find the source of damp smell? What is that smell in my house?
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