Rising damp occurs when excessive moisture from the bottom absorbs up into porous building materials such as natural stone, brick, globe, mortar and into the composition of the building. The moisture content evaporates from either face of the wall membrane, allowing more to be attracted from below. Rising wet is common in aged structures, but can also appear in newer structures if your damp-proof course has been damaged.

Though rising damp may cause unpleasant aesthetic damage, additionally, it may cause the structure of the building to be compromised and cause you bigger problems in the foreseeable future. Damp wall surfaces also encourage mould development, which can lead to health issues for occupants.

You could identify rising wet by just taking a look at and touching your wall surfaces, though if you are unsure whether there is a real problem, it is advisable to have a water damage professional do an examination.

what are the signs of rising damp?

There are a variety of typical signs or symptoms that can identify rising damp including:

TIDE Grades AND Wet STAINING

One of the most frequent signs of rising wet are tide grades left on surfaces. Tide marks are triggered by evaporation and salts from the bottom. You will most likely notice them everywhere up to 1 metre above the skirting plank.

If you do not notice tide marks, another frequent let tale sign is damp areas or staining. usually, these wet patches are yellowish to dark brown in coloring and a lot like tide marks, you will observe them again up to 1 metre above the skirting mother board.

PEELING WALLPAPER

If you’ve seen wallpaper arriving off or peeling from the wall membrane there could be a damp issue. Usually the wallpaper begins approaching loose from the skirting panel first, and the part of the wallpaper may be curved up.

DECAYED SKIRTING BOARDS

Much like many varieties of dampness, rising wet has the potential to cause rot within timbers it makes contact with. Consider skirtings that are damaged, easily crumble or localised fungus growing on or creeping out of the side. Also, consider destroyed or flaky paint.

SALTS INSIDE THE PLASTER

Fluffy debris in the plaster are an indicator of salts within the plaster. This is another indication of rising wet. These salts are beaten up of your bricks and into your plaster going out of what could look like blistering patches on your wall surfaces.

BLACK MOULD

If you commence to notice black mould showing above your skirting board this can be a clear sign that there surely is some type of moisture issue impacting on the area. This is also true if you haven’t any other black mould within the house and the dark-colored mould you observe is localised from the skirting mother board to up to 1 metre above.

What are some other signs of growing damp?
In the event the above listed signs or symptoms of rising damp don’t quite match the damp concern you’re experiencing, nevertheless, you still suspect growing damp, begin by running your hands throughout the suspected area. When you have wallpaper on your wall surfaces, you may listen to a suspicious ‘crunching’ sound – this is the salts that contain been used from the bottom. Then when possible, go through the open surface of the brick or natural stone work. Check to see if there are any salts developing and whether the brick is in fact wet.

Additionally it is important to notice that rising wet only occurs on surface floor levels as it is moisture from the dirt that has been drawn up the walls and therefore causing the growing damp problem.
If your wet problem is on the first floor or above, you may simply just have a condensation problem or a penetrating wet issue.