Efflorescent & Hygroscopic Salts in Buildings
Salt problems are possibly the least well known topics when it comes to the process of drying out dampness in buildings. If not properly understood, salts can confound and mislead even relatively experienced drying contractors. This unsightly residue can be an indicator of water damage in the very fabric of the building itself and can be serious. A water damage drying technician or contractor should understand salts, its meaning and formation as it’s the single biggest cause of misdiagnosis, confusion and unnecessary drying.
Efflorescent Salts
This is a commonly seen white amorphous powder on the surface of a wall or under the wall paper and is usually Sodium Sulphate - ( Na2SO4 ) which is highly soluble in water. Its presence usually points to water having travelled through the building material. When moisture in a building reaches the surface and starts to evaporate and dry out, the salts will be left behind and remain on the surface. This is because the microscopic salts are a solid held in a soluble suspension and cannot evaporate, this often looks unsightly and even alarming to the property owners. A water damage restoration service or technician needs to understand this process and be aware of its causes. What is causing the moisture to travel through the substrate and why are the salts present, these are questions that should be asked? Remember the presence of salts can be a natural occurrence caused by the construction materials and not a rising damp problem as is often misdiagnosed
Hygroscopic Salts
These salts absorb moisture from the air and this is a relatively common cause of apparent dampness in buildings. It takes the form visible dampness on walls and is sometimes known as Salt Damp. Hygroscopic Salts should not be confused with dampness due to Efflorescent Salts. Understanding how these salts can be present is essential to a water damage technician or contractor. The presence of a chimney breast or historical damp proof treatments often result in contaminated plaster which present themselves as damp patches on a wall, to the untrained eye this can seemingly be for no apparent reason. Ensure that you check out any damp proof contractors or any firm claiming to be damp specialists before you ask for them to quote for damp proofing services.
False Readings From a Damp Meter
Unskilled use of a damp meter can cause undue alarm and lead to a misdiagnosis, salts are electrically conductive and will show up on a moisture meter as a damp reading when in fact there is no dampness. This can often lead to drying contractors trying to drying off a wall which will never dry. If there is any doubt you need to ensure that Gravimetric testing is carried out during the damp survey by a skilled and knowledgeable damp proof services company.
Contact Paradigm Reinstatements
Paradigm Reinstatements is based in central Scotland and is one of the UK’s leading water damage and repair companies. They utilise a wide range of damp testing tools and call upon their industry leading knowledge and experience to provide expert damp detection and damp proofing services. They are highly experienced in the identification of salts in buildings and on how to deal with them.
As a result, Paradigm are one of the leading building reinstatement companies appointed by several of the UK’s leading insurance companies. Contact us now for a Free Quote.
