Rising Damp: 5 Essential Tips to Protect Your Home

Rising damp is rarer these days thanks to modern damp-proofing techniques, but older buildings and areas with a high water table are still at risk. It’s caused by groundwater seeping into foundations and walls, then working its way up buildings through porous materials. Left unchecked, it can have serious consequences, but there are preventative measures you can take. From spotting the signs to getting an independent damp survey, here are five you should know.

1. Check Your Damp-Proof Course

The damp-proof course (DPC) is a protective layer of impermeable material that’s installed just above ground level when a building is constructed. Since moisture cannot pass through it, it stops rising damp in its tracks. However, it can deteriorate over time, and in very old properties it may be absent entirely. Inspect the outside of your property and ensure you can locate the DPC above ground level. If not, contact a damp-proofing specialist.

2. Check and Maintain Drainage Around Your Property

Overflowing and leaky gutters can cause water to accumulate around the base of your property, making moisture ingress more likely. The purpose of these is to catch rainwater and deposit it a safe distance away from your house so that doesn’t happen. Inspect them regularly to ensure they’re not blocked or damaged, and fix them if they are. You should also check the ground around your property slopes away from the walls, not towards them.

3. Spot the Early Signs

If you follow the last two tips, you’re unlikely to experience rising damp. However, it’s still helpful to know the signs, as DPCs can be defective. Key signs of rising damp to look out for are tidemarks and efflorescence. Both appear on walls inside the building. The former are horizontal stains which may appear up to a metre high, while the latter is a light powder caused by moisture evaporating and leaving salt behind.

4. Call an Independent Damp Surveyor for Unexplained Issues

Rising damp can also cause paint to peel and plaster to blister, and you might also notice a musty smell or deterioration of your skirting boards. These are symptoms it shares with other types of damp, which can make diagnosis and remediation difficult. This is when you should contact an independent specialist damp surveyor. With their expert eye and equipment, they’ll figure out what type of damp problem you have and how to fix it.

5. Keep Your Property Well-Ventilated

While you’re waiting for the independent damp surveyor to visit, you can prevent moisture from causing further damage by ensuring that your property is well-ventilated. Once it reaches your interior walls, the moisture from rising damp will evaporate. If you open the windows to let air circulate, it’ll be carried outside. If ventilation is poor, the water vapour in the air will condense back into moisture when it touches another surface, causing more problems.

Conclusion

Prevention is better than cure, as the old saying goes, and this certainly applies in the case of rising damp. The next best thing is spotting and treating it early. If you think you’ve got a rising damp issue and need an independent damp survey in London, contact London Damp Specialists on 020 7523 5882.