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What is rising damp?
The damage it does to your home
Rising damp is causes when there is a failure of breach of a damp course and the consequence of this can be salting in the walls and the wall feeling damp.
Moisture is absorbed into the brickwork and mortar from the foundations. This passes through the building and results in dampness in walls. It is characterised by a tide line of deposited salts upon the wall.
Rising damp causes plaster to deteriorate and crumble and wallpaper to loosen. The salts left behind then absorb moisture from within the home and keep the walls damp. Rising damp will rust steel and iron and allow fungi to attack wood and can compromise the structural stability of a building.
The resulting humid environment is ideal for the growth of microbes such as mould, bacteria and fungi, that in turn cause respiratory problems, inflame asthma and lead to allergic reactions.
This photograph clearly shows the effect of rising damp. The brown staining of the wall is due to the salt contamination of the plaster.