Sooner or later, the majority of homeowners across the UK have to deal with dampness that can appear anywhere in a building, regardless of whether it is old or new. If left untreated, damp not only can seriously damage the structure and fabric of your home but also cause health problems for people.
If you have noticed black speckled marks or grey growths on the walls or a musty smell in the basement, it is a sure sign you need to act fast in order to protect your property and avoid getting into big trouble. Here are four main reasons why you should damp-proof your home.
Damp Causes Health Problems
Damp causes molds and molds are widely known as stubborn producers of a multitude of allergens, irritants, and even toxic substances. All of them have a negative impact on our health, often serving as triggers for a range of serious respiratory conditions such as infections and asthma attacks.
Released into the air, mold particles are easy to inhale, therefore they get into the lungs very quickly, at best resulting in coughing and wheezing. Unfortunately, people with different health problems tend to develop more serious problems, from heavy allergic reactions to worsening of asthma conditions.
Damp Ruins Your Home’s Construction
Believe it or not, damp can weaken your home’s structure. It doesn’t matter in what part of the country you live, it might be Manchester or Gloucestershire – damp doesn’t care. For instance, great plasterers in Cheltenham known worldwide for its Regency architecture, have witnessed various forms of damaged constructions, and not only in classical buildings built in the early 19th century. New houses are often affected too.
Of course, dampness will first damage your paint, plaster, flooring, ceiling, and furnishings, but after it’s done with the aforementioned stuff, it will gladly start to ruin the base. Untreated dampness in the building structure will boost the growth of mold and bacteria, which will pile up in HVAC systems and other building materials. In addition to that, metal roofing, wiring, coils, fasteners, and other metal components in your home will corrode and become non-functional.
Woodworm Infestation
Another reason to damp-proof your property is to avoid letting wood-boring beetles and insects move into your home and eat your furniture, an old piano, and a heck of a lot of other wooden things. Infestation by species of woodworm is a serious condition that requires special insecticidal treatment, all the more so, it can accelerate the weakening of the structural timber of your house.
Dry Rot Attack
Unique fungi able to spread across wood and masonry at lightning speed, dry rot is far more dangerous than it might appear at first glance. It develops easily and attacks quickly, showing up at different levels of the house and even growing through the walls. Always in search of more wood, it leaves it dry and cracked, and only immediate professional treatment can save your woodwork from this aggressive invader.
As you can see, damp is nothing good – it can cause serious health issues and damage your property, that’s why it is so important to properly dump-proof your home.