Damp manifests itself in different ways. All appearances of humidity are disturbing and imply a real need for care.
Water Damage
Water damage is a moisture problem that may not be serious in some cases, and their resolutions are not the most complicated. Most often vertically (between floors), water damage causes deterioration of the supports, which needs to be taken care of and repaired.
Water damage is linked to a leak in a pipe. However, in a building, the leak of your neighbor upstairs causes ceiling deterioration. You can notice it by a runoff on your ceiling, stains, or even blisters. Damage can also be linked to infiltration from outside. Often caused by a leak in the roof, the weather is not well retained, so water seeps inside.
Capillary Rise
There is also the phenomenon of humidity by capillary rise. The causes of such a phenomenon are related to the ground on which the building rests. As its name suggests, this case manifests itself with a rise in humidity by capillarity in the walls and from the floors.
The lack of waterproofing of the foundations of the building or the lack of a crawl space is the cause of the capillary rise. In addition, the support of the foundations on poorly drained soil is also a reason for their existence.
The Condensation
Condensation is a humidity problem that you can face. This is the most benign humidity problem that can be easily taken care of. There are preventive means to avoid the appearance of such a phenomenon. Condensation is linked to human activity within the building, particularly breathing, water vapor from a bathroom, or cooking in the kitchen.
Detect The Presence Of Moisture And Look For Its Source
Humidity is noticeable quite easily. Unsightly stains are often the way to realize the presence of humidity in the home. The spots are normally yellowish or tend toward darker colors. In the case of capillary rise, you notice stains at the bottom of the walls, behind the baseboards, and in the corners. This type of humidity does not necessarily appear on the walls in direct contact with the outside. It can very well be present on the interior walls. In addition, this humidity spreads to the very heart of the materials that make up the walls.
Infiltrations and water leaks are recognizable by the stains and blisters formed on the apartment’s ceiling. If you don’t have a neighbor above, in the case of a top floor, traces of humidity on the ceiling are signs of a roof waterproofing problem. In this case, inspecting this roof to realize its condition is necessary. If, on the other hand, you have a neighbor, the problem will come from a leak. A leaking bathtub or sink pipe, no matter how small, can cause significant damage to your supports and even, if the problem is serious, to the structure of the building.
To find the problem, visit your neighbor to see the leak. It may be that it is invisible to him, so he does not realize it. The leak can also come from a concealed pipe directly in the ceiling. You will then need to call a plumber or damp proofing companies Kent for example to solve the problem. The humidity linked to condensation is mainly visible in fog on your windows. In addition, humid ambient air is noticeable. The atmosphere is unpleasant in everyday life. You will also notice this with a cold and damp bed, linen that does not dry, and sometimes the appearance of fungi on the walls like saltpeter. The sources of this humidity are poor ventilation within the building, a lack of heating, or even an insulation problem.
