How to I keep dampness out the house?

Question

My bedroom walls have dampness on them, i dont know what to do i just use hot disinfecting and scrub it away but seems to come back like every 2 weeks, what can i use to keep it out the house?

thanks

Answer 1

My son has allergies due to mites, which are more predominant in damp environments. We live in the Mediterranean (our house is Sea front so we have a lot of humidity) and his doctor told us to keep the heater on (low) throughout the night to help keep the walls warm and take the humidity down. The heater should just be warm enough to warm the walls but not hot enough to feel a huge difference from the outside temperature to the inside temperature.

We also bought a de-humidifier for his room and ours (very cheap -21 Tunisian Dinars which equals out to 8.24 GBP, 12.23 EURO, or 16.20 US Dollars) and they have been VERY effective! Ours are automatic and do not need electricity. They run off a refillable charger that you change every three months. You wouldn't believe the amount of water that the de-humidifiers pull!!

You are also supposed to open all the windows in the house for a minimum of 15 minutes a day to let the air circulate throught the house and let freshen the air inside the house.

Since doing these actions my sons allergies has lessoned a great deal and we don't have humidity spots on the walls anymore.

Good luck to you, and if I can be of any more assistance, please feel free to contact me.

Answer 2

Wow - lots of answers without determining the problem first. I'm interested to know if you end up with more "open your window" answers vs. "close and seal your window".

I have to recommend determining the source of the problem before you go jumping at all these solutions. A good home inspector can do this, but you might have to remove a piece of the wall to see what's going on behind it. I don't recommend a contractor at this point, since he is likely biased toward an expensive solution.

Depending upon your region, home style, ground elevation, and history (home additions, maintenance, upgrades, and even small projects), your source might be any of the following.

1. Ground water seepage, probably from rainwater pooling but possibly from a small underground spring or even a leak in your underground water main or other outdoor plumbing (irrigation, hose bibs, etc.). Solutions for natural underground water seepage (not simple leaks) are expensive but absolutely necessary. If the water cannot be directed away from the house, it must be directed to a sump pump.

2. Roof leaks - most often from flashing around protrusions like chimneys and vents - can trickle down the inside of your walls before becoming visible as dampness. If this is determined to be the cause of your dampness, it can be fixed by a decent handyman or better yet a roofing contractor.

3. Exterior siding leaks will show as interior damp walls. In one case on HGTV, this was caused by a small hook installed in the siding to hold a trellis. I was amazed at how much moisture went through this tiny hole to create the damp bedroom wall. You or your home inspector will need to search carefully to find siding gaps or old punctures. Once found, the siding repair is not nearly as expensive as fixing underground water problems.

4. Other exterior leaks can occur around windows and bathroom vents, basically anywhere the siding is not continuous. A leak around a window casing would generate moisture on a section of wall near that window and abviously below the window's top. A leak around a vent is more likely to "travel" before appearing as dampness on the interior wall. These are the cheapest problems to fix. A tube of outdoor-rated caulk will usually do the job.

5. Interior moisture condensing where the wall is cold. This is usually the edges of the window glass, which is why windows gets frosty in the northern climates. It can occur also on a cold section of your exterior wall. Interior moisture is not likely to collect on an interior wall. If interior moisture is your cause, many of the other answers will help. The prime example is a dehumidifier, but make sure it drains or gets emptied regularly - otherwise the moisture extracted goes right back into the air. Even the kitty litter might help, or possibly the "other stuff" (silica gel?) that respnoder couldn't name.

Good luck - and remember to determine the problem before implementing a solution.

Answer 3

We live in a lovely1864 farm house in Michigan. My house is nice and dry but the Michigan basement has some major problems. The basement walls consist of huge boulders stacked upon one another, locked in with smalled stones and cement. Fortunately the dirt floor is now concrete. The rocks sweat causing the hardwood floor above one wall to buckle and roll in that room. During the summer I fondly call it my speed bump.
We use a de-humidifier in the summer, which helps immensely and I hang knee high panty hose full of bar-b-cue charcoal from the ceiling. That pulls any extra moisture from the basement plus it takes care of odors.
I realize the walls should have a barrier install but the $$$ just isn't there for that project right now.
Your problem indicates a sweating problem as you didn't mention any water stains on the walls. Either the house is wrapped too tight, your insulation is damp, or the moisture is coming up from below, i.e. a slab foundation etc.
If you own the house, start peeking between the walls, check your gutters, roof etc. to find the source of the problem. If you rent, contact the landlord. Your biggest worry could be black mold.

Answer 4

It depends on the source of the dampness.
Here is a list to check off:
1) Are you heating the house? Keep the house above 55 degrees. Do not turn the heat "off" in winter.

2) Do you have gas heat? If so, have it checked out. You may have a cracked heat exchanger and you may be putting moisture and carbon monoxide into your home from that source.
Do you have a ventless gas fireplace? They too can put moisture out into the house.

3) Could your showering be the source of moisture? Use a your restroom fan if you have one for 1/2 hour after you shower. Crack the bathroom window open while showering and a while after if you have one.

4) is there a crawlspace under your home? Could there be standing water under there? Perhaps the rain drains are blocked which diverts water under there. That needs to be corrected. Sometimes people actually have a spring under their house. You may need better ventilation in the crawlspace or even visqueen plastic on the ground down there. For that matter the attic may not be well ventilated.

5) cooking can also be the source of moisture in a home. Make sure you use your range hood or open a kitchen window a crack while doing a lot of cooking or steaming.

6) Since this is a beedroom, the source of the moisture could actually be you while you sleep. If the room is too tight you may need to crack a window while sleeping.


As I said....it really depends on where the water is coming from.

Answer 5

If your house is off the ground you can put heavy plastic under the house and this will stop the moisture from coming up through your floor. You will need to cover the complete area.
You should also check for any roof leaks if the moisture is bad.
Is the house insulated? Do you have a basement?
Make sure the bathroom fans are used for showering/bathing and the stove vent is used for cooking.
Damp Rid helps to take out moisture but if you have a big house this can get expensive so buy a dehumidifier.
Mold and mildew can cause health problems for many so please be sure and do something about this dampness.
You may want to go to Sears or any place that sell dehumidifiers and ask them what they carry to rid a room of moisture. Remember a dehumidifier is simular to an air condition it rids a house of moisture.
Good luck.

Answer 6

The moisture must be stopped. DO NOT even think that a dehumidifier will help at this point! The walls are seeping in moisture, Generally, there is NOT enough insulation to stop the cold in a wall. I would want to place a moisture guard (like plastic) on the outside and the inside of the insulation. I would use Touch N Foam to insulate near the bottom (inside the walls) to keep any moisture from seeping from ground level. MAKE SURE that you have adequate insulation IN THE WALLS between the Plastic Sheeting! You could do this by yourself and save a lot of money. All of the moisture for this length of time will have caused some mold to form inside the walls. Make sure that it is KILLED before you replace the drywall or panelling. Have a GrEaT HoLiDaY!!
Eds

Answer 7

I grew up and still live in a rain forest, so I know about dampness! There are two defenses: ventilation and heat. Ventilation is the most important. Do you have a basement? If so, make sure that there are ample vents all around the perimeter of your foundation. It's trickier if you're on a slab foundation, but the goal is the same: provide cross ventilation to the sub-floor.

The other element is heat, but since we're talking bedrooms, here, we can assume you're already heating those areas. If it were a garage or something, I would think that adding heat would help.

I hope this helps!

Answer 8

This could be a problem in your insulation or your roof.Something inside of the wall is leaking causing the dampness that leads to mold and a funny smell. I would get a dehumidifier. If that solves it, than the problem might not be within your walls and roof.
If that does not fix it, get a specialist to measure the dampness of the room..they will be able to figure out where it is coming from and what is causing it with special equipment.
Hope that helps.

Answer 9

You need a damp-proofing course - basically an interruption between the ground and your walls. Dampness can be pulled up the wall from the ground by capillary action, so you need to interrupt the flow. First check for any obvious damp sources outside or underneath the house, and if there is any build up or blockage you can remove. Then you will need to contact somebody who can retro damp-proof your house - they will drill a series of holes in the walls just above the ground and inject silicone into them.

All the other solutions such as opening windows and buying de-humidifiers will diminish the effects of dampness, but will not solve your problem...

Answer 10

This is going to be tedious job but if you do this once, then you will never have to face the dampness again.

Wait for dry days and use a heater blower on the wall where it is damp and keep it there for a few hours, this will dry up the moisture inside the wall.

When you are satisfy that it is completely dry, paint the wall with waterproofing solution which will be soaked into the skin of the wall. When dried, it will form a barrier for damp getting into the inside wall.