A wall is damp in a private house - What are the reasons for the dampness of the lower part of the walls of the house on only one side? Why the walls in the house sweat and get wet and how to fix it The wall dampens the house what to do.

Regular tidying is necessary to create comfortable living conditions in the house. But maintaining cleanliness does not at all protect residents from the formation of dampness, and as a result, mold. We will tell you in detail about how to remove dampness on the walls on your own, and why mold fungi are dangerous for human health.

Before you fight moisture, you need to find its source. Often dampness on the walls is the result of a combination of reasons. The most common of them:

  • Leaks - occur when the water supply system, sewer, roofing is damaged;
  • Poor ventilation;
  • Unusable waterproofing of floors and foundations;
  • A large number of house plants;
  • External factors - the proximity of the river, heavy rains, groundwater, etc.

However, the most important factor in high humidity is the person himself. Under normal conditions, an adult produces up to 2.5 liters of water vapor per day, including that during cooking, washing, water procedures, etc. Even a slight deviation from the norm, for example, when drying clothes in the bathroom, is fraught with consequences.

Solutions

Having found the cause of the formation of high humidity and eliminated it, you can begin to dry the room. Expensive methods such as the use of heat guns are only necessary to eliminate the effects of flooding or for very large rooms. In the conditions of an apartment or a private house, the following measures can quickly eliminate dampness on the walls:

  • Heater - the device provides air convection; even a small heater will cope with the task in 1-2 days;
  • Household dehumidifier - the power of the unit is determined by the size of the dwelling; to eliminate dampness on 50 m², a device with a power of 400 W is enough;
  • Silica gel is a substance that absorbs moisture and organic vapors from the air; for use in everyday life, it is admitted in the form of granules, they must be decomposed in a damp room; drying can take up to a week;

Finally, dampness is negatively affected by an increase in the temperature in the house. Using the heating system or the fireplace at full power, you can dry the walls relatively quickly. At the same time, the method is poorly suited for houses made of timber - due to direct exposure to high temperatures, wooden structures can crack.

Mold on the walls

The appearance of mold fungi in the house is possible if high humidity (70% or more) has existed for a long time. Of the huge variety of mold species in nature, only a few can appear in a human dwelling:

  • Black is the most dangerous variety. Belongs to the fourth group of pathogenicity. Especially often affects building structures.
  • White - rarely forms on the walls, only if there is condensation for weeks;
  • Blue - affects wooden walls, leads to rotting of the material from the inside, its cracking.

In addition to unaesthetic appearance, mold has a huge harm to human health. The reason for this is the saturation with mycotoxins that destroy any kind of living tissue. Entry into the body occurs both through direct contact and through the excretion of spores and their penetration into the respiratory system. If you do not remove dampness in the house on the walls before mold develops on them, the following diseases are possible:

  • Skin lesions - mycoses, dermatosis;
  • Respiratory tract infections - asthma, bronchitis, cough;
  • Disorders of the digestive system;
  • Exacerbation of chronic diseases - nervous system, musculoskeletal system.

The presence of mold is especially difficult for allergy sufferers and people with pulmonary insufficiency.

Solutions

Molds are difficult to remove. In all cases, the final coating will have to be completely removed - wallpaper, plaster, and with a large depth of damage and putty to the very base of the wall. An exception can only be a painted surface, since the mold hardly penetrates through the paint layer, but spreads more strongly over its area.

It is most reliable to remove mold and dampness in the house with the help of chemical compounds, some of which are easy to prepare at home:

  • Antiseptic primers - special products with a high content of fungicides; with their help, you can process the wall to a depth of 0.5 cm;
  • Household bleaches - any types containing sodium hypochlorite are suitable;
  • Hydrogen peroxide - 3% composition is used; due to the bleaching effect, it is not suitable for the treatment of painted surfaces;
  • Potassium permanganate - in everyday life it is found in the form of a solution of potassium permanganate; used as a mixture - 15 g per 1 liter of water;
  • Vinegar and citric acid are effective at the initial stage of mold development.

Even after the elimination of the fungus, the characteristic unpleasant odor remains in the room. A simple method to get rid of it is to treat the floors with a solution of baking soda. For its preparation, 15 g of the substance is dissolved in 100 ml of water.

The optimal microclimate in the house

Much depends on the microclimate inside the premises, including the health of the inhabitants. But the design of the house, the safety of walls, floors, and ceilings suffer no less from temperature and humidity.

To avoid costly repairs, it is important to maintain an optimal microclimate in the premises. Such for humidity - no more than 60% in the winter season and 65% in the summer. For air temperature – not less than 15°C. It is not difficult to notice a deviation from the norm, dampness is manifested by the following signs:

  • Condensation on glass and sections of walls articulated with the ceiling;
  • Characteristic "wet" smell;
  • Swelling of wooden structures; expressed, for example, in poorly covered doors;
  • Damp salt and sugar.

At the first sign of high humidity, do not hesitate. If you do not remove dampness from the walls in time, mold will soon form. It will take weeks to eliminate, and may result in the need for cosmetic repairs. "By eye" to determine the humidity above the norm is problematic, this will help a simple home appliance hygrometer.

Note that high humidity has a destructive effect not only on wooden structures, leading to their decay, but also on stone structures - brick, concrete. Soaked in water, they crumble, a process accelerated in regions with cold winters. Metal structures suffer a little less, but they are also susceptible to corrosion.

Prevention

So that residents do not have to worry about how to remove dampness on the walls, it is important to know effective ways to prevent its occurrence. It is enough to take a number of simple steps:

  • Ventilate the room for at least 10-15 minutes every day, creating a draft;
  • Dry clothes only on the balcony or on the street;
  • Equip the ventilation system in the kitchen;
  • Use air filters - models equipped with a non-filter are more preferable;
  • Install air conditioners in combination with fungicidal filters against mold fungi;
  • Do not abuse wet cleaning.

It is not so easy to remove the fungus from dampness on the walls. It often reappears from spores that have survived processing in the depths of the floor structure.

Ensuring your own health and the safety of your home is not so difficult. To do this, it is quite enough to follow the elementary rules for the care of the premises. And when mold appears, in no case should the problem be left to chance.

Wet wall in the apartment - what to do?

A modern apartment is not only comfortable housing with pleasant chores, but also many serious problems. For example, homeowners in apartment buildings, especially people living in corner apartments, periodically struggle with such a difficult problem as the walls in the apartment get wet. What to do in such a situation, because due to the temperature difference between the external atmosphere and the air inside the apartment, condensation gradually increases on the walls. If you let this problem go by itself, then over time, mold develops, which contributes to the appearance of respiratory ailments, and then they are difficult to treat. Because of this, it is necessary to correctly identify the cause of additional water condensation and eliminate it immediately. How to do this - we will tell in this article.

Ways to fight

Wet wall in the apartment - what to do? The formation of a damp wall occurs for various reasons, so the fight against this phenomenon occurs in different ways:

  • When the walls get wet with the completion of construction or renovation, it is only necessary to thoroughly ventilate the room, and in winter it is necessary to increase the heat flow. When the batteries are not efficient enough, it is better to use heaters to heat the walls.

Important! If this option is acceptable to you, then read about which one is better to choose a heater in terms of efficiency, economy, convenience:

  • Economic heaters for the apartment.
  • The best IR heaters.
  • The best convector heaters.
  • Lack of ventilation in housing plays a big role in the formation of dampness. At the same time, problems with air circulation are possible both on one wall and throughout the apartment. A local case is not difficult to eliminate, you just need to rearrange the objects that impede the movement of air. For example, water accumulates in a section of the wall behind curtains and home furniture. Just swap furniture, open curtains, put household furniture nearby - a fan or a heater.

Important! General ventilation problems can be corrected with complex actions. This includes: checking the interior ventilation vents, perhaps they were accidentally laid with rags and small things, covered with wallpaper, covered with furniture. If the problem is much more complex, learn about where to go if the ventilation does not work.

  • Weak waterproofing is a more complex problem. There is only one way out: you need to look for a moisture distribution area and isolate it securely. In most cases, seams come out from the outside of the house. Only professional builders can work with this, an amateurish approach will only worsen the situation. Another method - constant ventilation, will also help, but you need to know that it does not completely eliminate this drawback.
  • Freezing of the outside of the building is another case in which independent actions to solve the problem of wet walls can seriously aggravate the situation. Most tenants, unable to protect the wall from the cold climate, seek to insulate the apartment from the inside, and often this leads to worse consequences. The place of dew formation will completely change the location, becoming, on the contrary, closer to the room, and all the water in a larger volume will be collected under the heater, and from there it will drain into the apartment. For external insulation, you can use polystyrene, mineral wool, but one of the most effective options, albeit expensive, is liquid insulation.

Regarding the problems of walls, you should understand that if in most cases you are not related to construction and your knowledge of wall insulation methods is most likely not enough, the best option would be to entrust this work to professionals, experienced and knowledgeable people.

Tool base for repair

Wet wall in a brick house - what to do? To eliminate a wet wall in a room, as well as for any repair, it is necessary to have the appropriate tools and materials selected according to the type of repair and the level of technology.

The must-have list must include:

  • tape measure for measuring distance;
  • level to determine the angle of curvature of the wall;
  • hammer for driving nails, dowels and even screws;
  • hacksaw for sawing boards and plywood;
  • construction stapler and staples;
  • construction thread or twine;
  • trowel;
  • spatulas.

This list cannot be complete. The emergence of new tools depends very much on the nature of the problems and even on the skills and abilities developed. As a result, each apartment owner or construction master decides on the choice personally.

thermal insulation

You can decide why the wall in the apartment is sweating, what to do, against the background of an attempt to implement another method for eliminating a damp area on the wall, which is quite effective and frequent when used. However, its serious disadvantage for apartment owners is that it cannot be used by them in the classic version, since thermal insulation must be carried out from the outside. It is almost impossible to do such work on your own. For example, the option is desirable for separately located buildings, lower floors, as well as houses where you do not have to climb to a great height to make the finish. In other cases, you will have to invite professionals.

Thus, when the repair concerns a multi-storey building, the walls will only have to be insulated from the inside. However, if you do everything right, you can get rid of wet walls. But at the same time, it is necessary to remember two nuances:

  • Before repairing a damp area, it is necessary to determine the level of water absorption of the purchased material. It determines the rate and amount of water removal from the room. The lower the level, the more optimal the water-repellent characteristics of the material will be. This will help to forget about such a problem as a wet wall in one of the rooms in winter.
  • To decide on the nature of the repair, one must not forget to perform such a procedure as measuring the thickness of the layer of the material purchased for work. Here it is important to form a density at which there will be a sufficient level of thermal conductivity. If it is small, then the layer must be formed thin.

Only by highlighting all the points noted, you can get a significant decrease in humidity in the room and keep the repaired look against the wall. In any case, it is very necessary to correctly find thermal insulation materials that are available in stores in large volumes. For high-quality repairs, it is optimal to choose already well-known manufacturers who strive to produce material at a high level of quality.

Who to turn to for help?

If your measures, in spite of all efforts, remain ineffective, you cannot understand why the wall in the panel house gets wet, the same wet spots remain on the walls, and the air gives off mustiness of damp plaster and wallpaper. Then you need to seek help from specialized organizations:

  • First of all, you need to take a written application to your management company. In this case, try to go to the logical conclusion of the problem.

Important! Housing offices do not want to deal with such problems, but this is their field of activity, they receive money for this. Talk to your neighbors, most likely they have the same trouble.

  • The application is written in two copies. In this written document, it is necessary to carefully describe the process of wetting the walls, in which place of the apartment and when. Be sure to note the season - this may suggest the reasons for the appearance of a damp spot.

Important! Make sure that the application brought is noted, and take one copy with a mark of the time of acceptance.

  • The management company is obliged to respond to your signal and send a specialist to you to inspect the housing. As a result, a document must be drawn up stating that the wall in the apartment is really damp, highlighting specific reasons. Take a copy of it.
  • Having completed the writing of the act, the company must decide on the nature of the work (fixing the seams, improving the efficiency of the walls, fixing the roof, eliminating the leakage in the basement) and the period within which they will be done. Keep a copy of this document for yourself as well.
  • When the process is suspended (this happens, unfortunately, not so rarely), time will be violated, with the accumulated copies, you can go to the relevant authorities, in particular, the prosecutor's office. But to focus on this, of course, is not worth it. No one is going to get involved with this serious structure. Therefore, your tough attitude should move the housing and communal services employees to bring the matter to an end.

footage

When you cannot understand why the walls in a brick house get wet, what to do, we suggest that you work with professional master builders who will quickly do all the finishing work and deprive you of this “raw” problem. Remember, not only the safety of the decoration of your home depends on this, but also your health!

Why do the corners in the house get damp?

The problem of dampness of corners and walls often worries both residents of high-rise buildings and owners of private houses. Due to the fact that the corner of the room is damp, the walls begin to darken, the wallpaper peels off, mold appears, and the air in the room becomes heavy. Plus, in the cold season, the temperature in the rooms drops, windows open less often to ventilate the room, there is a lot of precipitation, and the walls themselves are not dried by the sun's rays.

Wet corners and walls are a rather serious problem that should be fixed immediately. Dampness indoors can cause various diseases, as well as become a collection point for fungi and mites.

Therefore, the question of why the corners in the house are damp is of concern to many.

Causes of dampness

The sources of dampness in the corners of rooms are obvious and hidden. Some are easy to find, others you have to look for. However, all the reasons why the corners in the house are constantly damp are divided into two subcategories - internal (poor ventilation, insufficient heating) and external (increased thermal conductivity of the wall, water penetration from the outside, etc.).

Raw and blackened corner

Often dampness appears in the corners of the room in such cases:

  • there is a “leakage” of the wall (water can enter through cracks in the wall from the attic, downpipes or eaves);
  • the wall freezes through (the corners “cry” from the fact that a “cold” bridge has formed due to the increased thermal conductivity of the walls);
  • the heating in the room is insufficient;
  • there is no ventilation or it is inefficient;
  • fungus has formed on the walls;
  • the foundation of the house is poorly waterproofed;
  • there is a lot of washing and drying in the house;
  • there are no hoods in the kitchen and bathroom;
  • a void has formed in the seams that are not filled with mortar;
  • the outer walls are too thin;
  • voids formed in the floor slabs;
  • cooling occurs through metal beams or reinforced concrete structures;
  • there is too much water and moisture in basements;
  • balcony slabs are poorly embedded in the wall;
  • condensation appears on the ventilation pipes due to improper vapor barrier.

We eliminate dampness in the corners

Attentive owners will always notice dampened corners in time and establish the cause of sputum.

After finding the culprit of the problem, you can start fixing it:

  • When the wall freezes, measures must be taken to insulate it. The most effective is the insulation of the walls from the outside. It will not only reduce dampness, but also reduce heat loss. They do this with either mineral wool or polystyrene foam. However, for owners of apartments in high-rise buildings, such insulation is a rather troublesome business. If problems arise with external insulation, you can insulate the wall inside the room.

When applying insulation from the inside, thermal calculations should be made in order to avoid the appearance of condensate and wetting of the insulation material, as a result of which its insulation properties are lost.

  • To make correct calculations, the humidity in the room, the climate, the degree of thermal conductivity of the wall, etc. are taken, therefore, in such cases, expert advice is simply necessary.
  • With an inefficient heating system, additional sources of thermal energy should be used. It can be an electric fireplace, a stationary battery, a radiator or other alternative heaters, which are recommended to be installed in places where dampness is the most.
  • If condensation occurs due to excessive tightness of the room after installing plastic windows, the room should be ventilated more often.
  • With insufficient wall thickness, it is recommended, if possible, to clad the building from the outside with an additional ball of bricks or apply insulation under the plaster. From the inside, the walls can be insulated with slab insulation (polystyrene, mineral wool), placed on the frame with 5 cm spacers for filling expanded clay into it. This building material will absorb moisture from a damp wall and prevent the spread of mold.
  • You can improve ventilation by installing an additional hood, and even at the bottom of the door at the entrance to a separate room, you can make a slot for air regulation. Improve ventilation should also be in the bathroom and kitchen, which are most often sources of dampness.
  • If there is a basement under the housing, moisture can penetrate through microcracks in the floor, as a result of which the walls become damp. To eliminate such a problem, the floor is treated with an antifungal agent, a moisture-resistant base is laid on it, and all cracks are sealed with a sealant.
  • If the cause of damp corners was a fungus that appeared in the wall and mold on the plaster, then all the affected areas are treated with antifungal solutions, plastered again with a high-quality mixture if necessary, and only after that new wallpapers are glued.
  • With poor-quality installation of balcony slabs, moisture penetrates into the seams, so the joints between the slab and the wall should be sealed so that there are no leaks leading to damp spots.
  • When caulking seams in external walls, care should be taken to ensure that closed and open joints provide air protection, and the latter, moreover, are well protected from moisture.

Damp corners on the upper floors of the building

In private houses or on the uppermost floors, the walls often get damp because of the attic.

This happens in such cases:

  • the corners turn gray due to violations in the insulation of the attic, dampness and black spots appear most of all in places where the attic floor adjoins the outer walls;
  • the attic space is poorly ventilated (there are few ventilation holes, there is no through ventilation), with well-performed ventilation in the attic, the same temperature is maintained on the entire surface of the roof in the autumn-winter season.

Dampness in the corners on the top floor

Prevent dampness

To minimize dampness and prevent its occurrence in the future will allow the observance of certain rules.

  • Laundry should be dried outside the living rooms or with the air extractor switched on.
  • Cover pots and pans with lids when cooking to prevent steam from escaping.
  • In the bathroom, where the concentration of humidity is highest, as well as in the kitchen, hoods and ventilation openings should be regularly cleaned from excessive clogging, and these rooms should also be ventilated daily.
  • In a private house, you can insulate the attic, as well as cover the walls with waterproofing material, preferably with pores.
  • All combustible substances that form a lot of moisture, in particular, paraffin, are extremely rarely used indoors.
  • All rooms in the house should be aired daily.
  • Eliminate errors in the heating system in time.
  • Use a dehumidifier to reduce humidity. This household appliance will easily cope with the problem of dampness, and its compactness will allow you to transfer the dehumidifier from room to room.

We reduce humidity

If walls often get wet in interior rooms with high humidity (bath, bathroom), then the matter is most likely in the ventilation system. Therefore, first of all, you should check the ventilation openings for the presence of excess objects that may interfere with air circulation.

It is easy to check how clogged the ventilation channels are: we bring a burning candle to the air vent and see how the flame reacts: if it reaches for the grate, then the channels are not clogged and there is a draft. When there is no flame reaction to ventilation, additional devices must be installed in order to establish air circulation.

When the holes are not clogged, and the draft is still weak, additional slots can be made at the bottom of the door for air to enter. If this does not help, a forced exhaust is mounted in the ventilation duct. Such fans are turned on only when there are no people in the room, as they can greatly harm health.

Experts advise installing fans with a built-in humidity controller in the bathroom. When the humidity rises, the fan works automatically, eliminating the air oversaturated with dampness.

Some nuances of sealing joints

In case of violation of the tightness of the seams and when cracks appear in the walls, the corners in the room begin to dampen. In this state of affairs, there is only one way out: the waterproofing of the joints between the panels needs to be repaired, and the microcracks in the walls should be repaired.

After high-quality sealing, the walls should not gain moisture. They can become damp and leak only when the technology of sealing the seams is violated.

The main mistakes are the application of sealant without prior repair or the use of a low-quality hermetic substance.

The following should also be taken into account: if the joints are waterproofed in one apartment, and not in the whole house, then the dampness problem will not disappear. Moisture will seep into poorly sealed seams in an apartment upstairs or on a technical floor, so albeit more slowly, it will find its way into the right room.

Foundation waterproofing

It happens that the dampness in the house is caused by the fact that the foundation is poorly insulated. With insufficient waterproofing, groundwater, when raised above 1.5 m, can penetrate into the walls. In this case, they will get wet, mold will appear under the baseboard and in the corners, the plaster will begin to crumble, and the wallpaper will deteriorate. However, if the horizontal waterproofing of the foundation is correctly done, then it will be able to prevent the penetration of groundwater.

Why does the foundation get wet

Condensation after installing new windows

It happens that pockets of dampness in the corners of the apartment appear after replacing ordinary windows with plastic ones. The installed windows are very tight, they tightly close the openings, as a result of which the ventilation of the room worsens. You can avoid damp walls in such cases if you know what to do.

Ventilation is often sufficient to exchange indoor air. However, if this is not enough, you can improve ventilation by placing an additional fan on the air vent. Then the humidity in the room will decrease, and there will be no condensation of moisture on cold walls, in particular in the corners where air exchange is reduced.

The problem of damp corners often begins to worry in the cold season. Many at first do not even notice damp walls, however, when moisture turns into mold, the problem should be taken seriously. From constant dampness in the room, fungi, ticks and centipedes multiply, and residents may develop various diseases, shortness of breath, cough, and allergic reactions.

Video: how to get rid of dampness in a house or apartment

The fight against an excess of moisture in a residential area must begin immediately. This process is quite laborious, sometimes requires money. However, with an accurate determination of the root cause of the increase in humidity and the right choice of effective ways to combat dampness, wet corners can be forgotten forever. And if necessary, a new renovation in the apartment will refresh the walls and please everyone.

Causes of damp walls in the apartment and corners in the rooms: ways to combat mold

In houses or apartments, a situation often arises when the corners or walls begin to get damp. As a result of this, the wall darkens, the wallpaper begins to peel off, and a characteristic smell of dampness appears in the apartment. Such consequences do not add attractiveness to the room. But other than that, a damp indoor surface is an ideal environment for mold to thrive. And fungus spores are the cause of the emergence and development of numerous respiratory diseases.

What is the reason for the appearance of moisture on the surface of the walls, and how to deal with this problem? What causes dampness in an apartment?

The reasons may be:

External moisture

The cause of dampness can be external moisture that gets on the walls and penetrates through microcracks or poorly sealed seams inside. More often, such a nuisance is typical for apartments on the upper floors with a poor-quality drainage system, for walls along which drainpipes run, as well as panel houses with poorly sealed joints between the plates.

moisture in the corners

In order to fix the problem, it is necessary to clean the wall of the old coating, re-plaster it from the outside, prime it, cover it with waterproofing mastic, and only then cleanly paint the resulting surface. You can independently carry out such a cycle of operations either in a private house or on the ground floor of an apartment building. In other cases, it will be very problematic to independently solve the problem of dampness of the walls due to the need for high-altitude work. Therefore, you will have to turn to professionals.

Excessive humidity in the room

The simplest reason, in terms of elimination, is high humidity in the apartment. It is possible that the appearance of pockets of dampness was preceded by the replacement of windows in the room. New windows closed the openings more hermetically and worsened the ventilation of the room. In some cases, in order to avoid dampening of the walls of the apartment, it is enough to ventilate the room more often.

If this is not enough, or if the problem occurs in a room with potentially high humidity, such as a kitchen, then you can try to improve the quality of ventilation. To do this, you can put a fan on the outlet. Thus, ventilation will turn from natural to forced supply and exhaust with greater productivity.

wall freezing

The most common and unpleasant reason for the appearance of moisture on the walls in the room is their freezing. Specialists involved in thermal insulation of premises use the term "dew point". If you do not go deep into technical details, then this is the temperature at which the vapor turns into a liquid. That is, in relation to our case, condensation will appear on the inner surface.

If the outside air temperature is low, and the room is not warm enough, then there is a chance that the wall will freeze. After that, moisture will appear on its inner surface. The probability of dampness of the walls inside the room is even higher in the case of the presence of "cold bridges". Their role can be played, for example, by microcracks in walls or leaky joints in prefabricated houses.

dampness in the apartment interior walls

How to deal with damp walls in this case? Sometimes it helps to increase the temperature in the room. In this case, the "dew point" goes inside the wall. But without extra labor, this can only be done in private houses with an autonomous heating system. This will increase the consumption of gas and money to pay for it. In apartments with central heating, the only way to raise the temperature is by increasing the number of battery sections.

The most effective way to combat the freezing of external walls is their additional insulation. This can be done both from the inside and outside.

Less time-consuming is the insulation of the wall from the inside. For this, one of the many heaters that are commercially available can be used. Most often, expanded polystyrene, mineral wool are used for these purposes. Less often - foam. It is quite possible to do work on internal insulation on your own. But this option has a number of significant drawbacks. Firstly, insulation sheets will “eat up” precious centimeters of room space. And for rooms with a size of one and a half dozen squares, this will be noticeable. Secondly, despite all the manufacturers' statements about the absolute harmlessness of their materials, there is a possibility that harmful fumes will appear in the room. Thirdly, if the thickness of the insulation is incorrectly calculated, it may turn out that the “dew point” will be at the junction between the insulation and the wall. And then you get a hidden focus of moisture and mold. The situation is even worse than the dampness of the walls in the apartment.

With additional wall insulation, it is better to give preference to outdoor work. But, again, such work can be done independently only on the ground floor and in a private house. In all other cases, the involvement of professionals is inevitable.

With external wall insulation, the heat-insulating material is attached to the wall using special adhesive mixtures and plastic dowels. Then a mesh is laid on top under the plaster and the surface is plastered. After stripping and sanding, you can start staining. In order to prevent moisture from rain and melting snow from getting between the insulation and the wall, a protective visor made of galvanized metal sheets is mounted on the upper end of the insulation.

My kopeck piece

Renovation of a small apartment

Damp wall and mold on the walls

Faced a big problem known to many. In winter, the wall and the corner in the children's room get damp in my apartment. Accordingly, mold forms in the apartment on the wall and in the corner.

The reason for this behavior of the walls (this effect is also called “the wall is crying”) is that the wall freezes deep in winter and the low temperature on the wall surface inside the room reaches the dew point. As a result, the moisture contained in the air begins to condense on a cool wall, and in such a humid environment, a fungus multiplies, and mold in the common people.

In other words, the combination of such factors as high air humidity and low temperature of the wall surface inside the room makes the room unsuitable for comfortable living.

For a long time I shoveled the Internet in search of a way out on the topic “fighting mold”, “fungus on the wall”, etc. After all, this is a children's room, and the health of children is above all, since children breathing mold spores, and simply living in such a room, will not shine with health (asthma, runny nose, headaches, etc.).

Many professional builders offer to insulate the wall with mineral wool or polystyrene foam boards both from the inside of the room and from the outside. More precisely, professionals are divided into two camps: some initially say that insulation should be done from the outside so that the wall does not freeze from the outside, while others suggest doing insulation inside the room in order to raise the temperature of only the inner surface of the already polystyrene foam wall (thermos effect).

Both of these approaches have drawbacks: firstly, the insulation of the wall from the outside requires the permission of the architects and the municipality, since changes the appearance of the facade of the building, and secondly, this is an expensive exercise, because. the cost of the work of industrial climbers is not at all cheap, and the materials are also not in vain.

The second approach is somewhat cheaper, since it does not require permission and can be done with your own hands. But, in this case, the dew point will be transferred to the junction between the insulation and the actual wall surface, where moisture will also accumulate and mold grow (after all, the room air no longer heats the wall). And the pores of mold will find an opportunity to fly into the air of the room.

I took a slightly different path. Firstly, both camps of professionals unequivocally agree that the dew point should be inside the brickwork and then moisture will not condense inside the brick. Secondly, I thought about why exactly in this place I have a damp wall.

Ultimately, I came to the conclusion that in my case, the raw wall turned out to be due to poor quality brickwork. As I understand it, this is the calling card of our builders. Hello crooked masons. Those. when laying bricks, our “most honorable” masons either spared the mortar for masonry, or were simply too lazy to fill the entire space between the bricks with it. Therefore, cold channels formed in the brickwork, which I call holes.

After removing the native plaster and carefully examining the seams of the brickwork, my suspicions were confirmed. If you just cover them with putties and plasters, it will not help. In this case, only deep warming can help.

After such a “cleaning” of obvious building holes, I began to tap the seams, where, it seems, our valiant masons did not screw up. I really hoped! Screwed up! The drill really fails! Added a couple more dozen holes in the mortar.

I took mounting foam and plugged the tube from it into the drilled holes as deep as possible (I lengthened the tube with a thermo-cambric), foamed the empty cavities inside the brickwork. Almost a whole balloon of foam left for 3-4 squares of low-quality masonry!

After foaming all the “holes”, I primed the wall with bleach. Bleach, as far as I know, kills the pores of the fungus. It can be primed with a solution of copper sulfate.
When the foam and bleach had dried, I plastered the wall along the beacons with a mixture of Knauf Grunband. This is such a mixture in which instead of sand or plus to it, foam balls are used. I thought that the extra foam in the plaster would not hurt.

Primed with a deep penetration primer, puttied and ... topcoat.

Two years is a normal flight. Firstly, the wall is not wet, there is no mold and it feels much warmer to the touch than before.

But that's not all. This article has only described how I removed one factor, namely the reduced temperature of the inside of the wall. There was a second important factor, namely the increased humidity in the room. How to deal with high humidity, I will consider in a separate article.

The article was written based on materials from sites: ventkam.ru, serviceyard.net, teplota.guru, remont-ekspert.ru, www.moya-dvushka.ru.

Apartment owners quite often face such a problem as a wet wall in an apartment. Especially often the trouble occurs in the winter, when the temperature difference between the outside and inside the room is very large and condensate begins to settle on the walls of the building. The automatic question arises of what to do with a wet wall in the apartment and how to get rid of this problem. If we neglect to correct the situation and leave everything as it is, then it is quite possible that black mold will subsequently form on the walls, which is extremely dangerous for human health, provokes respiratory diseases and causes serious complications.

In this article, readers will be able to find out why the walls in the apartment are wet and if the wall in the apartment gets damp, what to do and what actions to take first.

The reasons why the walls in the apartment are damp

Before proceeding to solve the problem, you should answer the question of why the walls in the apartment get wet and at what stage the damage is. If the degree of moisture in the wall is very high, then you will need to make a radical decision, and, without delay, correct the situation as quickly as possible.

The first sign that indicates that the walls are getting wet in the apartment is that its surface becomes wet, the wallpaper begins to peel off and the plaster crumbles, and at the final stage the wall is covered with a layer of black mold. If such a phenomenon occurs, then it is extremely important to first determine why the walls in the apartment are damp. In the future, this will allow you to choose the right method for correcting the situation, including the necessary fixtures and materials that will be used. The main reasons why the walls in the apartment get very wet are the following:

  1. Insufficient wall insulation or low waterproofing quite often lead to the walls getting wet in the apartment. As a rule, this is observed in old houses and in apartments located on the highest or lowest floors. It should be noted that wet walls in an apartment on the top floor or on the first floor appear in the autumn-spring period, and not in winter, as in other cases.
  2. There is high humidity in the room or at the location of the dwelling. If we are talking about a brick building, then a large amount of moisture rises from the basement, resulting in a wet and ugly wall in the apartment.
  3. Insufficient ventilation can also cause the wall in the apartment to become damp. For the same reason, the windows in the room fog up.
  4. Quite often, the wall in the corner apartment gets damp, what to do in such a situation worries many owners. This is due precisely to the inconvenient location of the living space and the fact that the walls of such a dwelling are much more exposed to negative factors than in other apartments.
  5. The room has recently been renovated. This reason, explaining why the walls in the apartment become damp, is the only one in which such a consequence is considered natural. As a rule, during the repair a large amount of materials are used that contain water and after the completion of the necessary work, moisture remains in the walls, especially if the room is poorly ventilated. In such a situation, you should not worry and worry about what to do when the walls in the apartment get wet, but it is better to wait a little time and the moisture will dry itself.

What to do if the wall in the apartment gets wet?

Having figured out why the wall in the apartment gets wet, we found out that there can be several reasons for the emergence and development of such a situation at once. Accordingly, in order to answer the question of what to do if the wall in the apartment becomes damp, it is possible only if the cause of the problem is precisely determined.

For example, if a wall in a renovated apartment becomes damp, no special manipulations are required. It is enough to ventilate the apartment well and hold the windows open for a while. In the case of repair work in the winter, it is necessary to provide heat in the apartment so that the moisture remaining after the repair evaporates. If the heating is good, then batteries are enough for this purpose, but if they do not cope, then you will need to turn on the heater.

In case of problems with ventilation, if the wall in the apartment becomes damp, only an experienced master will tell you what to do, although at the initial stage you can cope with a difficult situation on your own. It is enough to remove objects that interfere with high-quality air ventilation. For example, if moisture accumulates in a small area behind the curtains, then it is quite possible to raise or remove the curtain altogether, and move the furniture away. In this case, if the wall in the apartment gets wet, such actions can quickly deal with the problem. In general, the problem of what to do when the walls become damp in the apartment in the absence of good ventilation is solved in a complex way. You will need to check all the vents that are inside the apartment and ventilate the room more often. Additionally, it is worth putting a hood in the kitchen so that excess moisture is drawn out.

As we have already noted, the reason why the wall in the apartment gets wet may be the lack of high-quality waterproofing. This problem is more serious and difficult to deal with. There can be only one solution here - to isolate the wall surface sufficiently. As a rule, if the walls get wet in the apartment, then the seams on the outside of the building have become unusable. What to do when the walls get wet in the apartment? in this case, only a specialist will tell you. This will require serious intervention, since ordinary ventilation cannot solve the problem.

What to do if wet walls appear in the apartment in winter? This issue worries many homeowners who are faced with such a problem. Moreover, if you take independent action in this case, you can only worsen the situation. Many do not have the opportunity to perform additional insulation from the outside of the building and, laying insulation from the inside, only worsen the situation by shifting the dew point. As a result, a wet wall in an apartment will become even wetter in winter, and later moisture will begin to collect in a puddle under the insulation. It is extremely important to understand here that even if the owner of the apartment is an experienced climber and builder, you should not do the insulation work on your own, but best of all, trust experienced craftsmen who will do all the work with the highest quality.

For a more complete picture of what to do when the wall in the apartment gets wet, it is worth deciding what tools and materials are needed to carry out such work, as well as what technologies are most suitable for solving the current problem.

Necessary tools for work

If the walls in the apartment become damp what to do, we try to understand this article. Several options for correcting the situation have already been proposed, however, it would be most correct to contact specialists who can certainly fix the problem. If, nevertheless, it is possible to carry out repair work to eliminate the reason why the walls are wet in the apartment, then it is worth preparing the necessary tools in advance. The mandatory list includes the following items:

  • roulette;
  • level;
  • a hammer;
  • hacksaw;
  • stapler and staples;
  • construction thread or twine;
  • trowel;
  • spatulas.

On this, the list is not complete. It is likely that other devices, tools, for special work will be required. Here, each performer determines the toolkit independently, taking into account the peculiarities of eliminating the problem. In addition to tools, you need to take care of buying special materials that are presented on the construction market. Next, consider some of the nuances of insulation and waterproofing.

How is thermal insulation carried out in rooms where the wall is damp

As an answer to the question of what to do when the walls in the apartment get wet, we can offer to strengthen the existing thermal insulation. This will eliminate the penetration of moisture and cold from the outside and will give the greatest effect. It is important that the insulation is carried out both outside and inside.

Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to do such work on your own. This option is suitable for detached buildings, ground floors, as well as buildings where there is no need to climb to a considerable height in order to complete the finish.

It is extremely important to choose the right thermal insulation materials, which are presented on the construction market in large quantities. To carry out the work, it is best to choose proven manufacturers who pay attention to the high quality characteristics of materials. It is important to remember here that even if wet walls appeared in an apartment on the top floor, then it is worth insulating the area from the outside, and not from the inside.

If we are talking about an apartment building, then it is almost impossible to insulate the walls in this case, so you will have to limit yourself to the interior decoration of the walls, which, if the work is done correctly, will give a guaranteed high-quality result. In this case, it is worth paying attention to two important parameters:

  • when the wall in the apartment gets wet, you must first determine the water absorption coefficient of the material used. It is from this indicator that the speed and degree of moisture removal from the apartment depends. The lower the indicator, the better the water-repellent properties of the material will be. This will make it possible to eliminate such a problem as a wet wall in an apartment in winter;
  • to determine what to do when the walls get wet in the apartment, it is worth insulating the walls, but at the same time take into account the thickness of the layer purchased for finishing the material. Here it is important to make such a density at which there will be a sufficient coefficient of thermal conductivity. If the coefficient is small, then the layer will need to be made thin.

Only taking into account all these points, it is possible to achieve a significant decrease in humidity in the apartment and return the wall to its original appearance. To answer the question why there are wet walls in the apartment and what to do if the wall gets wet in the apartment, it is enough to study the theoretical aspects of this issue and contact a specialist for practical advice.

How to carry out thermal insulation of the foundation if the wall in the apartment becomes damp?

What to do if the walls in the apartment are wet in winter and the apartment is located on the first floor of the house? In fact, here you can solve the problem quite easily. You only need to insulate the foundation. This action is especially relevant for those who are interested in giving their homes increased sound insulation. This will solve not only the problem of a wet wall in the apartment in winter, but also eliminate noise and unpleasant sounds.

Here it is worth giving preference to materials that have a high noise absorption coefficient, since this will save time for repairs and the installation of sound insulation. The flammability class of materials is extremely important in order to exclude the possibility of sudden ignition. The best option may be a material of class G1, since thermal insulation, even during combustion, does not provoke the appearance of an open flame source. It is worth highlighting several of the most common heaters and at the same time soundproofing materials. The list of the most famous includes such as:

  • mineral wool is a very common material that has a low cost and excellent technical characteristics. When the walls get wet in the apartment, what an experienced master can advise on what to do and most likely, he will say that, despite good performance, mineral wool for insulation is not the best choice. The thing is that the material has a high coefficient of water absorption;
  • Styrofoam is a great choice if you don't know what to do if a wall gets wet in your apartment. The material is suitable for interior and exterior decoration, while it practically does not absorb moisture. The disadvantage is the low ability to transmit steam. This does not allow air to circulate freely. In addition, when ignited, the foam begins to release toxins;
  • "Warm" plaster, which is used for wall insulation from the inside and outside. The use of such material is especially relevant if wet walls appear in an apartment on the top floor. This is due to the fact that the material is not a traditional insulation and does not absorb moisture. In addition, such plaster has excellent soundproofing performance. As a disadvantage, the excessive weight of the coating can be noted. The material is not suitable for private houses, because it needs a reinforced foundation;
  • cork insulation is used for interior decoration. If you have no idea what to do when the wall in the apartment gets wet, then you should pay attention to this particular material, which is characterized by low thermal conductivity, but at the same time has a small weight. The disadvantage of the coating is increased flammability.

Surface insulation scheme if the wall gets wet in the apartment

Many apartment owners are interested in the question of where to go if the wall is wet in the apartment and what to do in such cases. In fact, there can be only one solution - to visit a construction company that provides such services. This immediately provides several benefits. On the one hand, you will decide what to do when the wall in the apartment gets wet, and on the other hand, you will receive a high-quality work that will not require alteration in the future. Another important point is that the master has an idea of ​​​​what to do if the wall is wet in the apartment, which means that he will perform all the necessary work strictly according to the technology. For example, we can give the following algorithm for finishing a section of a wall.

  1. The working site is being prepared, namely, it is cleaned of dust and debris, after which leveling plaster and a primer are applied to it. The base for further work is ready and now you need to glue the foam on it, and then fix it with special dowels.
  2. Each sheet needs to be treated with an adhesive, and then pressed against the prepared surface and pressed well. It is best to arrange the sheets in a checkerboard pattern, thereby increasing the strength of the structure.
  3. Fastening with dowels is carried out along the perimeter, while holes will have to be drilled in the material.
  4. After gluing and fixing the sheets, the finished finish is covered with a reinforcing mesh and the overall structure is plastered. The walls are decorated with paint, and a layer of decorative plaster is applied to it.

The simplest option for wall insulation, which determines what to do when the wall in the apartment becomes damp, is to insulate the surface from the outside with a special “warm” plaster. The material is applied to the plaster mesh, and then decorated.

Wall insulation from the inside if the wall in the apartment is damp

This option remains the only one when the homeowner does not know what to do when the wall in the corner apartment gets very damp and where to turn if the apartment has a wet wall. In fact, if it is not possible to insulate the structure from the outside, then it is important to consider the procedure for insulating the walls from the inside. Experts recommend using any of the above materials in this case, however, it is worth choosing a heater taking into account the individual dimensions of the walls, as well as the financial capabilities of the owners of the premises. From this point of view, it is still not worth using foam plastic, since it can easily ignite and thereby threaten the lives of residents.

The whole process of warming takes place in several stages. Each of their stages is extremely important for the overall result, since it allows you to complete the finish with the highest quality and with the expectation of long-term operation in the future. The algorithm of actions in this case is as follows:

  1. Walls should be pre-prepared by cleaning from dirt and old wallpaper.
  2. Impregnate the surface with a primer.
  3. Assemble the frame from a metal profile or wooden bars. The fastening step should be equal to 40-60 cm.
  4. The insulation is placed in the cells, if necessary, the sheets can be cut.
  5. In the future, the coating is covered with plasterboard and finished with plaster.

Conclusion

If you have no idea what to think of when the wall in the apartment gets wet, then we recommend that you contact experienced craftsmen who will complete all the finishing work as soon as possible and save you from this problem.

There is a saying: any apartment is good if it has its own. The interior can be decorated to your liking, equipping a gym in the bedroom, getting a cat, a dog. Having your own apartment is a lot of pluses, with occasional problems.

A common problem is damp walls. Dampness appears in late autumn and winter, with a difference in temperature inside the home and outside. Corner apartments and those located on the upper / lower floors of the building are subject to it.

raw wall

Wet walls are the trouble of the owners. First, the wallpaper peels off, the plaster collapses, mold starts. It is difficult to fight with her, her presence is bad for health. There are several reasons why walls get wet.

recent renovation

Often partitions get wet after recent repairs. This is the most harmless reason. There is no need to eliminate it, it disappears on its own over time. A little humidity inside the apartment, after repair, is easy to explain.

The cement mortar used contains water. Poor ventilation plus damp weather affects the rate of moisture evaporation. Therefore, worries about humidity are groundless.


Moisture seeps in from above

External moisture

The walls of apartments on the upper floors get wet as a result of the poor quality of the system for collecting and draining water from the roof, poor processing of the seams with waterproofing material. Moisture seeps through microscopic cracks.

Panel buildings are also vulnerable. Violation of construction technology leads to depressurization of the seams between the panels.


Checking ventilation

Insufficient ventilation

The reason for damp walls in rooms with high humidity is poor ventilation. It's about the bathroom and kitchen. The efficiency of ventilation is determined by opening the window and attaching a piece of paper to the vent grille. If the leaf sticks to the ventilation grill, the air exchange is not disturbed. If the paper falls, the ventilation is not working and needs to be cleaned.

High indoor humidity

Wet fumes penetrate from the basement with poor waterproofing. Brick has different moisture resistance. Silicate has the lowest performance.

The problem occurs in multi-apartment buildings with basements and poor waterproofing. Parts of the walls near the floor are damp.

Excess moisture appears after the installation of sealed plastic windows. Periodic ventilation of the room eliminates the problem, removes condensation on the windows.

wall freezing

Freezing occurs with poor thermal insulation. It is reduced by insufficient wall thickness, opening of interpanel seams, cracks.

Ways to get rid of moisture

This can be done on your own or contact specialized organizations.


Bituminous mastic

Getting rid of outside moisture

Some experience will help in solving the issue. If not, follow our recommendations:

  • find a weak spot that allows water to enter;
  • isolate it with bituminous mastic;
  • remove the damaged coating from the inside, apply mastic, plaster the surface;
  • cover the treated area with a primer, paint or wallpaper.

Ventilation, electric heating will partially correct the situation.

Leaks in an apartment building are handled by home maintenance services.


Exhaust fan in the bathroom

Restoration of ventilation

Violation of ventilation of a local nature is easily eliminated. remove the cause of the violation of ventilation, move the curtains, rearrange the cabinet.

Blockages of ventilation shafts are removed independently if they are localized near the grate. The protective grille is removed, the blockage area is vacuumed or cleaned.

A clean draft-free vent requires the help of professionals. Independent solution of the problem will not bring results.

Often the violation of ventilation occurs due to the fault of the neighbors from above. Illegal housing redevelopments change the ventilation stack, which affects the air movement of other apartments. Specialists will be able to detect innovations and fix the problem. Cleaning mines in old houses is also their task.

The ventilation system is normal, but the air flow is bad? The reason is plastic windows, open them more often, put them on micro-ventilation.

Installing forced ventilation is a great way out. Poor air intake into the apartment requires the installation of supply ventilation, poor removal - exhaust. Look for compact, cheap devices that provide normal air exchange.

Instead of a grate, install an exhaust fan in the bathroom. There are fans with a timer that periodically turn on and off. It is advisable to purchase a fan with a check valve. If the neighbors put in a similar device, with more power, it will drive the air back into the apartment. The kitchen needs to be equipped with a hood.

Elimination of high humidity

Dealing with moisture on the walls due to the basement is difficult. There are many reasons: high groundwater level, improper waterproofing. Basement draining should be done by professionals.

Dampness enters the apartment through microscopic cracks in the floor. Remove the flooring, treat the base with mastic, lay the flooring in place, treating it with an antifungal agent. Seal the seams thoroughly with sealant.


Warming from the outside

Freezing liquidation

The best prevention of freezing is the insulation of external walls. Owners of the first floors can do this on their own, everything above is in the competence of specialists from construction companies.

Internal insulation causes mixed reviews. On the one hand, the interior decoration will lead to the accumulation of condensate between the wall and the insulation, on the other hand, the lack of the possibility of external insulation is a way out of the situation.

Stages of internal insulation:

  1. The walls are cleaned of old wallpaper or paint.
  2. The surface is levelled.
  3. A frame made of metal profiles is mounted, and fastened to the wall with self-tapping screws, dowels.
  4. Insulation is laid in the frame cells.
  5. Everything is sheathed with drywall.
  6. The surface is plastered.

An alternative method of insulation is “warm” plaster; instead of sand, materials with increased thermal insulation properties (expanded clay chips, expanded polystyrene grains, sawdust, etc.) are present in the composition. Possesses high adhesion, does not demand alignment of walls. Apply in the usual way.


black mold

Mold control

Black mold forms on walls and ceilings - microscopic fungi, the spores of which are carried through the air, falling on building materials. With a favorable (moist) environment, spores develop, give a mycelium (mycelium).

Mold control:

  1. Remove wallpaper and paint from the walls - you need to work in a respirator so that the fungus does not enter the respiratory tract. The working tool is a hard metal brush or spatula.
  2. Treat the surface with an antiseptic - previously actively used: vinegar, baking soda, hydrogen peroxide. Some still use home remedies to combat the fungus today. Experts advise using factory-made antiseptic preparations (Fongifluid, Senezh Effo, etc.). They are more efficient.
  3. After a few hours, walk along the wall with a dry brush, remove the decay products of microorganisms, wash with warm water, and dry.
  4. After a day, apply a deep penetration primer.
  5. When it dries, apply plaster.
  6. The final stage is painting or wallpapering. You need to paint with means for wet rooms. Glue is used with antifungal properties.

Where to go when the walls are damp?

If they continue to get damp, despite attempts to fix the problem, an application is written to the management company. You need to make a copy of this document.

The company must send the master to inspect the apartment, draw up an act on dampness, the reasons for its occurrence. The owner is entitled to receive a copy of it.

After the company is obliged to set the timing of the repair and carry it out. If the repair is poor or the agreed deadlines are not met, copies of the application and act must be contacted by the relevant authorities to resolve the disputed issue.

Dampness in the apartment must be dealt with. She is the source of various diseases. Without delaying the case, eliminate the factors that contribute to its appearance. It is unnecessary to raise the humidity yourself by drying the laundry in the room. If not possible, dry with a running hood. This will allow the apartment to remain dry, comfortable, safe for living.

Additional information on the topic of the article can be obtained from the video.

The following video will tell you how to get rid of the fungus on the walls.

In contact with

In houses or apartments, a situation often arises when the corners or walls begin to get damp. As a result of this, the wall darkens, the wallpaper begins to peel off, and a characteristic smell of dampness appears in the apartment. Such consequences do not add attractiveness to the room. But other than that, a damp indoor surface is an ideal environment for mold to thrive. And fungus spores are the cause of the emergence and development of numerous respiratory diseases.

What is the reason for the appearance of moisture on the surface of the walls, and how to deal with this problem? What causes dampness in an apartment?

The reasons may be:

  • external;
  • internal.

External moisture

The cause of dampness can be external moisture that gets on the walls and penetrates through microcracks or poorly sealed seams inside. More often, such a nuisance is typical for apartments on the upper floors with a poor-quality drainage system, for walls along which drainpipes run, as well as panel houses with poorly sealed joints between the plates.

In order to fix the problem, it is necessary to clean the wall of the old coating, re-plaster it from the outside, prime it, cover it with waterproofing mastic, and only then cleanly paint the resulting surface. You can independently carry out such a cycle of operations either in a private house or on the ground floor of an apartment building. In other cases, it will be very problematic to independently solve the problem of dampness of the walls due to the need for high-altitude work. Therefore, you will have to turn to professionals.

Excessive humidity in the room

The simplest reason, in terms of elimination, is high humidity in the apartment. It is possible that the appearance of pockets of dampness was preceded by the replacement of windows in the room. New windows closed the openings more hermetically and worsened the ventilation of the room. In some cases, in order to avoid dampening of the walls of the apartment, it is enough to ventilate the room more often.

If this is not enough, or if the problem occurs in a room with potentially high humidity, such as a kitchen, then you can try to improve the quality of ventilation. To do this, you can put a fan on the outlet. Thus, ventilation will turn from natural to forced supply and exhaust with greater productivity.

wall freezing

The most common and unpleasant reason for the appearance of moisture on the walls in the room is their freezing. Specialists involved in thermal insulation of premises use the term "dew point". If you do not go deep into technical details, then this is the temperature at which the vapor turns into a liquid. That is, in relation to our case, condensation will appear on the inner surface.

If the outside air temperature is low, and the room is not warm enough, then there is a chance that the wall will freeze. After that, moisture will appear on its inner surface. The probability of dampness of the walls inside the room is even higher in the case of the presence of "cold bridges". Their role can be played, for example, by microcracks in walls or leaky joints in prefabricated houses.

How to deal with damp walls in this case? Sometimes it helps to increase the temperature in the room. In this case, the "dew point" goes inside the wall. But without extra labor, this can only be done in private houses with an autonomous heating system. This will increase the consumption of gas and money to pay for it. In apartments with central heating, the only way to raise the temperature is by increasing the number of battery sections.

The most effective way to combat the freezing of external walls is their additional insulation. This can be done both from the inside and outside.

Less time-consuming is the insulation of the wall from the inside. For this, one of the many heaters that are commercially available can be used. Most often, expanded polystyrene, mineral wool are used for these purposes. Less often - foam. It is quite possible to do work on internal insulation on your own. But this option has a number of significant drawbacks. Firstly, insulation sheets will “eat up” precious centimeters of room space. And for rooms with a size of one and a half dozen squares, this will be noticeable. Secondly, despite all the manufacturers' statements about the absolute harmlessness of their materials, there is a possibility that harmful fumes will appear in the room. Thirdly, if the thickness of the insulation is incorrectly calculated, it may turn out that the “dew point” will be at the junction between the insulation and the wall. And then you get a hidden focus of moisture and mold. The situation is even worse than the dampness of the walls in the apartment.

With additional wall insulation, it is better to give preference to outdoor work. But, again, such work can be done independently only on the ground floor and in a private house. In all other cases, the involvement of professionals is inevitable.

With external wall insulation, the heat-insulating material is attached to the wall using special adhesive mixtures and plastic dowels. Then a mesh is laid on top under the plaster and the surface is plastered. After stripping and sanding, you can start staining. In order to prevent moisture from rain and melting snow from getting between the insulation and the wall, a protective visor made of galvanized metal sheets is mounted on the upper end of the insulation.

The problem of dampness of corners and walls often worries both residents of high-rise buildings and owners of private houses. Due to the fact that the corner of the room is damp, the walls begin to darken, the wallpaper peels off, mold appears, and the air in the room becomes heavy. Plus, in the cold season, the temperature in the rooms drops, windows open less often to ventilate the room, there is a lot of precipitation, and the walls themselves are not dried by the sun's rays.

Wet corners and walls are a rather serious problem that should be fixed immediately. Dampness indoors can cause various diseases, as well as become a collection point for fungi and mites.

Therefore, the question of why the corners in the house are damp is of concern to many.

The sources of dampness in the corners of rooms are obvious and hidden. Some are easy to find, others you have to look for. However, all the reasons why the corners in the house are constantly damp are divided into two subcategories - internal (poor ventilation, insufficient heating) and external (increased thermal conductivity of the wall, water penetration from the outside, etc.).

Often dampness appears in the corners of the room in such cases:

  • there is a “leakage” of the wall (water can enter through cracks in the wall from the attic, downpipes or eaves);
  • the wall freezes through (the corners “cry” from the fact that a “cold” bridge has formed due to the increased thermal conductivity of the walls);
  • the heating in the room is insufficient;
  • there is no ventilation or it is inefficient;
  • fungus has formed on the walls;
  • the foundation of the house is poorly waterproofed;
  • there is a lot of washing and drying in the house;
  • there are no hoods in the kitchen and bathroom;
  • a void has formed in the seams that are not filled with mortar;
  • the outer walls are too thin;
  • voids formed in the floor slabs;
  • cooling occurs through metal beams or reinforced concrete structures;
  • there is too much water and moisture in basements;
  • balcony slabs are poorly embedded in the wall;
  • condensation appears on the ventilation pipes due to improper vapor barrier.

We eliminate dampness in the corners

Attentive owners will always notice dampened corners in time and establish the cause of sputum.

After finding the culprit of the problem, you can start fixing it:

  • When the wall freezes, measures must be taken to insulate it. The most effective is It will not only reduce dampness, but also reduce heat loss. They do this with either mineral wool or polystyrene foam. However, for owners of apartments in high-rise buildings, such insulation is a rather troublesome business. If there are problems with external insulation, you can use the premises.

When applying insulation from the inside, thermal calculations should be made in order to avoid the appearance of condensate and wetting of the insulation material, as a result of which its insulation properties are lost.

  • To make correct calculations, climate, the degree of thermal conductivity of the wall, etc. are taken, therefore, in such cases, expert advice is simply necessary.
  • With an inefficient heating system, additional sources of thermal energy should be used. It can be an electric fireplace, a radiator, or others that are recommended to be installed in places where there is the most dampness.
  • If condensation occurs due to excessive tightness of the room after installing plastic windows, the room should be ventilated more often.
  • With insufficient wall thickness, it is recommended, if possible, to clad the building from the outside with an additional ball of bricks or apply insulation under the plaster. it is possible with slab insulation (, mineral wool), placed on the frame with 5 cm spacers for filling expanded clay into it. This building material will absorb moisture from a damp wall and prevent the spread of mold.
  • You can improve ventilation by installing an additional hood, and even at the bottom of the door at the entrance to a separate room, you can make a slot for air regulation. Ventilation should also be improved in the kitchen, which are most often sources of dampness.
  • If there is moisture under the housing, it can penetrate through microcracks in the floor, as a result of which the walls become damp. To eliminate such a problem, the floor is treated with an antifungal agent, a moisture-resistant base is laid on it, and all cracks are sealed with a sealant.
  • If the cause of damp corners was a fungus that appeared in the wall and mold on the plaster, then all the affected areas are treated with antifungal solutions, plastered again with a high-quality mixture if necessary, and only after that new wallpapers are glued.
  • With poor-quality installation, moisture penetrates into the seams, so the joints between the slab and the wall should be sealed so that there are no leaks leading to damp spots.
  • When caulking seams in external walls, care should be taken to ensure that closed and open joints provide air protection, and the latter, moreover, are well protected from moisture.

Damp corners on the upper floors of the building

In private houses or on the uppermost floors, the walls often get damp because of the attic.

This happens in such cases:

  • the corners turn gray due to violations in the insulation of the attic, dampness and black spots appear most of all in places where the attic floor adjoins the outer walls;
  • the attic space is poorly ventilated (there are few ventilation holes, there is no through ventilation), with well-performed ventilation in the attic, the same temperature is maintained on the entire surface of the roof in the autumn-winter season.

Prevent dampness

To minimize dampness and prevent its occurrence in the future will allow the observance of certain rules.

  • Laundry should be dried outside the living rooms or with the air extractor switched on.
  • Cover pots and pans with lids when cooking to prevent steam from escaping.
  • In the bathroom, where the concentration of humidity is highest, as well as in the kitchen, hoods and ventilation openings should be regularly cleaned from excessive clogging, and these rooms should also be ventilated daily.
  • In a private house, you can insulate the attic, as well as cover the walls with waterproofing material, preferably with pores.
  • All combustible substances that form a lot of moisture, in particular, paraffin, are extremely rarely used indoors.
  • All rooms in the house should be aired daily.
  • Eliminate errors in the heating system in time.
  • Use a dehumidifier to reduce humidity. This household appliance will easily cope with the problem of dampness, and its compactness will allow you to transfer the dehumidifier from room to room.

We reduce humidity

If walls often get wet in interior rooms with high humidity (bath, bathroom), then the matter is most likely in the ventilation system. Therefore, first of all, you should check the ventilation openings for the presence of excess objects that may interfere with air circulation.

It is easy to check how clogged the ventilation channels are: we bring a burning candle to the air vent and see how the flame reacts: if it reaches for the grate, then the channels are not clogged and there is a draft. When there is no flame reaction to ventilation, additional devices must be installed in order to establish air circulation.

When the holes are not clogged, and the draft is still weak, additional slots can be made at the bottom of the door for air to enter. If this does not help, a forced exhaust is mounted in the ventilation duct. Such fans are turned on only when there are no people in the room, as they can greatly harm health.

Experts advise installing fans with a built-in humidity controller in the bathroom. When the humidity rises, the fan works automatically, eliminating the air oversaturated with dampness.

Some nuances of sealing joints

In case of violation of the tightness of the seams and when cracks appear in the walls, the corners in the room begin to dampen. In this state of affairs, there is only one way out: the waterproofing of the joints between the panels needs to be repaired, and the microcracks in the walls should be repaired.

After high-quality sealing, the walls should not gain moisture. They can become damp and leak only when the technology of sealing the seams is violated.

The main mistakes are the application of sealant without prior repair or the use of a low-quality hermetic substance.

The following should also be taken into account: if the joints are waterproofed in one apartment, and not in the whole house, then the dampness problem will not disappear. Moisture will seep into poorly sealed seams in an apartment upstairs or on a technical floor, so albeit more slowly, it will find its way into the right room.

Foundation waterproofing

It happens that the dampness in the house is caused by the fact that the foundation is poorly insulated. With insufficient waterproofing, groundwater, when raised above 1.5 m, can penetrate into the walls. In this case, they will get wet, mold will appear under the baseboard and in the corners, the plaster will begin to crumble, and the wallpaper will deteriorate. However, if the foundation is properly made, then it will be able to prevent the penetration of groundwater.


Condensation after installing new windows

It happens that pockets of dampness in the corners of the apartment appear after replacing ordinary windows with plastic ones. The installed windows are very tight, they tightly close the openings, as a result of which the ventilation of the room worsens. You can avoid damp walls in such cases if you know what to do.

Ventilation is often sufficient to exchange indoor air. However, if this is not enough, you can improve ventilation by placing an additional fan on the air vent. Then the humidity in the room will decrease, and there will be no condensation of moisture on cold walls, in particular in the corners where air exchange is reduced.

The problem of damp corners often begins to worry in the cold season. Many at first do not even notice damp walls, however, when moisture turns into mold, the problem should be taken seriously. From constant dampness in the room, fungi, ticks and centipedes multiply, and residents may develop various diseases, shortness of breath, cough, and allergic reactions.

Video: how to get rid of dampness in a house or apartment

The fight against an excess of moisture in a residential area must begin immediately. This process is quite laborious, sometimes requires money. However, with an accurate determination of the root cause of the increase in humidity and the right choice of effective ways to combat dampness, wet corners can be forgotten forever. And if necessary, a new renovation in the apartment will refresh the walls and please everyone.