Do you suffer from moisture in your living room? You're not alone: in Flanders many living rooms suffer from moisture problems such as condensation, ventilation problems, rising damp, damp floor, leaks or a musty smell.
Recognising moisture in the living room
A living room is an important room in your home. It is the room in which you unwind, receive guests, pursue your hobbies or perhaps work. In other words, the living room is a place where you should like to be and where you would rather not have moisture problems.
An ideal humidity level for a living room is between 40% and 60%. Is the value higher than that? Then chances are that sooner or later you'll have moisture spots and -problems will experience. You can usually recognise an overly humid living room by the following characteristics:
- Coloured stains on the wall
- Mould spots
- Loose plaster, wallpaper or grouting
- An unpleasant and musty smell
- Condensation on windows and walls
If you notice these issues in your living room, it is a good idea to get a moisture expert enable.
Consequences of a damp living room
If you notice the above phenomena in your living room but do not intervene, it can lead to all kinds of negative consequences. We list the main ones:
- Consequences for your health. Think headaches, frequent colds or more difficult breathing, for example.
- Implications for the indoor temperature. A damp room feels colder is harder to heat. You will use more energy to reach a comfortable temperature.
- Consequences for your house. Moisture in the living room not only creates an unpleasant smell, it can also damage your furniture and home.
Causes of an excessively damp living room and their solutions
There are several causes of moisture in living spaces, each with their own control methods. It is recommended to use a moisture specialist in order to determine the exact cause. Once the exact cause is known, an appropriate solution can also be provided. The most common causes are:
1. Condensation moisture
Condensation moisture is a common cause of a damp living room, as condensation is often caused by human activities. Think, for instance, of residents breathing or perspiring. Mopping or drying laundry can also lead to higher humidity. In addition thermal bridges be the culprit.
The ideal solution to condensation moisture is to make your living room as comfortable as possible ventilate. This can be done by taking action yourself, but also a mechanical ventilation system can help you with this.
2. Rising damp
Is your living room on the ground floor? Then rising damp lead to moisture in the living room. This occurs when there is a problem with or lack of the water barrier, causing groundwater moisture to penetrate the walls of the living space.
Rising damp is best tackled professionally by having injecting your walls. Then experts drill holes in the damp walls, and then inject them with a damp-proof product.
3. Penetrating moisture
Finally, penetrating moisture to the cause of a damp living room. This is moisture that penetrates through the outside of the house due to (heavy) precipitation and seeps through the interior walls.
Penetrating moisture in living spaces is best combated by means of facade impregnation, in which a transparent but waterproof layer is applied to the façade.
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Frequently Asked Questions
You can reduce damp in your living room by making sure you ventilate, to maintain a constant temperature and to minimise the build-up of daily and excess water vapour, such as cooking vapours and steam after showering. If the moisture problem in your living room is caused by structural defects, such as rising ground moisture or rainwater ingress (penetrating moisture), is professional moisture control such as wall injection or facade impregnation necessary.
There are also a number of practical steps you can take to reduce the humidity in your living room straight away.
- Ensure continuous ventilation: keep the ventilation grilles permanently open or use a mechanical ventilation system to remove the polluted and damp air from your living room.
- Keep the temperature stable: heat the living room to a constant temperature of at least 18 °C. In cold living spaces, moist air condenses more quickly on the walls and windows.
- Keep your daily moisture output to a minimum: don’t dry freshly washed clothes in the living room, and always switch on the extractor fan when cooking in an open-plan kitchen.
- Tackle the source of the damp: if the walls in your living room remain damp despite sufficient ventilation? Then moisture seeps in through your home’s foundations or the porous external wall, and a permanent damp-proofing treatment required.
The most common symptoms of excess damp in the home, and specifically in the living room, are condensation on the windows, black mould patches on the walls or ceilings, a musty smell and peeling wallpaper or flaking paint. Also, a damp feeling in the house and an unexplained high energy bill point out a moisture problem in the house.
There are a number of tell-tale signs of a excessive humidity in the living room.
- Visible damage: mould in the corners of the living room or behind furniture, damp patches on the walls, crumbling plaster and rust on metal fixtures in the house.
- Air quality and odours: there is a persistent musty or damp, cellar-like odour that lingers in the furniture and textiles.
- Health complaints: Damp in the home also leads to an increase in allergic reactions, sneezing, chronic fatigue or breathing difficulties by exacerbating mould spores.
- Comfort and energy: it takes a long time to heat up the living room, because humid air requires much more energy to warm up.
The main causes of moisture problems to be at home rising damp by groundwater from the surrounding soil, penetrating moisture due to rainwater seeping in through the external wall, condensation moisture due to poor ventilation and hidden leaks in the home. Each type of damp problem therefore requires a specific moisture diagnosis and moisture solution tailor-made.
- Rising damp: this damp problem is caused by groundwater seeping up through the foundations into the internal walls because there is no waterproofing.
- Penetrating moisture: rainwater that seeps in through damaged, porous or ageing external walls, causing damp patches on the inside wall of your living room.
- Condensation moisture: this type of moisture is caused by everyday activities in the home, such as breathing and cooking. This water vapour then condenses on the cold surfaces in the living room, due to a lack of ventilation or ventilation.
- Leaks: faulty drainage pipes, damaged penetrations or a damaged roof, allowing water to seep unnoticed into the structure of your home.
You can get rid of damp in your home for good by a thorough damp survey to have this carried out by our experts and to tackle the exact cause at the source of the damp. Depending on the moisture problem this is done by to inject the walls, to waterproof the façade or a mechanical ventilation system to install. Here at AquaConsult, we offer a whole range of other moisture solutions to tackle the specific damp problems in your home.
The step-by-step plan we follow at AquaConsult to ensure a damp-free home.
- Comprehensive damp survey: one of our damp experts will measure the exact moisture content in the walls and materials in your living room, and then determine the precise cause of the damp problem.
- Targeted treatment: in the case of rising damp we inject the walls with a moisture-repellent gel that forms an impenetrable barrier against groundwater. Whereas at penetrating moisture repair the façade by a protective impregnating coating to apply. And at condensation moisture and mould problems we install an efficient mechanical ventilation system.
- Drying out and restoration: following the professional damp treatment, the walls in your living room will dry out completely, after which you can once again finish off your living space without any worries with plastering and painting.
The quickest – though only temporary – way to get moisture out of your home is to open all the windows opposite each other for a short while and place a dehumidifier in the living room. This quickly reduces relative humidity in the indoor air and, consequently, the moisture content in your living room.
For a definitive and swift moisture solution At AquaConsult, we follow these steps:
- Using building dryers or dehumidifiers to quickly remove excess moisture from the walls and air in your home following a leak or damp treatment.
- To switch on active ventilation: our mechanical ventilation system continuously removes the moist air from your home and replaces it with drier outside air.
- Tackling the cause at source: as long as the ascent or penetrating moisture has not been treated with a high-quality wall injection or facade impregnation, new moisture continues to seep into the house.
Yes, a damp house is harmful to health. High humidity creates the ideal environment for fungi, bacteria and dust mites in the home. Prolonged inhalation of these mould spores and the poor air quality in a damp home can cause or exacerbate a wide range of health problems.
- Respiratory conditions, such as asthma, chronic bronchitis and wheezing, tend to worsen in a damp home.
- Allergic reactions, such as sneezing fits, a blocked nose, a tickly cough and irritated or red eyes, are on the increase.
- Skin problems such as eczema or rashes get worse.
- General symptoms also develop, such as frequent headaches, tiredness and a weakened immune system.
The best time to ventilate your home in hot weather is during the coolest parts of the day. So open the windows early in the morning, late in the evening and at night. At these times, open windows and doors on opposite sides of your home to allow cool, dry air to circulate.
There are also a number of important points to bear in mind regarding the ventilation of your home in hot weather.
- Keep the windows closed during the day: during the day, the warm outside air often contains a lot of moisture. If you let this warm air into a cooler home, the moisture can condensation on the walls and floors.
- Leave the mechanical ventilation switched on: leave the mechanical ventilation system Run it continuously at the normal setting indoors to maintain adequate ventilation without letting in too much heat.
- Keep your blinds closed: do everything you can to prevent the living room from getting too hot, as a warm living space can retain more moisture.
Yes, a home with a poor indoor environment, which is often caused by invisible moisture problems and fungi, can actually make residents ill. This phenomenon is medically known as ‘Sick Building Syndrome’.
AquaConsult tip: Are you experiencing health problems and do you suspect that damp in your home is the cause? If so, please a free expertise carry out to identify the source of the damp problem.