How to Treat Rising Damp

The most common and effective way to treat rising damp is to install a remedial damp proof course by injecting a water repellent damp proof cream into the mortar bed joint of affected walls. 

Treating rising damp this way will ensure the walls in your home return to their natural dry state, and if you choose our specialists to install your damp proof course then you will be protected by a thirty year guarantee. If you suspect your home requires professional rising damp treatment then contact your local branch today on 0800 0121 437 or click the button below to book a survey online.

Before we explain how to treat rising damp, we should mention that it is vitally important to get an accurate diagnosis before you install any solutions. Rising damp can only occur when a failed, broken, or missing damp course is present.

This allows groundwater to enter the building via capillary action. If there is dampness in your property but the DPC is intact, then the root cause will be another type of damp such as condensation moisture, mould, or penetrating damp. Needless to say, installing a remedial DPC in such cases would be a costly mistake so it is essential that you have the problem diagnosed by a qualified specialist.

Although not always necessary, damp proof membranes are sometimes used to supplement a chemical DPC injection. These membranes can be installed immediately after the injection or repair of a damp proof course and used as a key for any new plaster.

The membrane will separate any new plaster from existing salts and other contaminants on walls.

Before the damp proof cream is injected into the walls our technician will first strip back the affected to remove any salt deposits and salt contaminated plaster.

Once the solution has dried we will replaster the walls using a salt proof plaster applied to the brickwork, with a skim plaster applied on top of that. The walls can then be re-decorated making the damp proof course holes invisible.

Most property owners identify a rising damp problem when they spot damp patches or a tide mark of moisture on their internal walls. Before any treatment for rising damp on internal walls can start, technicians will need to lift skirting boards around the affected area and remove any plaster that has been contaminated by hygroscopic salts.

Once the area has been prepared, our technicians can begin installing a remedial damp proof course via our DPC injection method.

Exterior and external walls can also display symptoms of rising damp. For example problems caused by elevated ground levels can often be solved by simply removing excess soil back below the damp-proof course - this would be the case if a raised flower bed was the culprit for example.

When a more permanent fixture or alteration has bridged the damp proof course, a damp proofing solution that adapts to your property will likely be required. A qualified surveyor will be able to make the best recommendation.

Our rising damp treatment technicians are equipped with a high strength, solvent-free and water-resistant formula damp proof cream called Dryzone to inject into the mortar course of affected walls.

Benefits of using Dryzone over other chemical DPC methods include:

• It has the highest level of saline (the active damp proofing ingredient) available
• Shown to be over four times stronger than other competing products
• Quick-drying and contains no solvents
• Low hazard and non-flammable
• Protects interior and exterior walls

After the DPC has been installed and the brickwork has been replastered, some care should be taken with regards to preventing rising damp in the future. A professional treatment programme from Rentokil Property Care will fix the source of the rising damp and any related damage, moreover before the walls are ready for redecorating our technicians will apply an undercoat of damp proof plaster.

Whenever it comes to modernising, extending or renovating your property it is vital to consider how this might affect your damp proof course. It is always wise to get the opinion of a professional surveyor as any changes to the ground level or alterations to the wall, external drainage, plumbing or guttering has the potential to reduce the effectiveness of your damp proof course.

Treating rising damp can be a tricky task to take on independently due to the various potential causes and the accuracy with which the treatment must be applied to be effective.

This is why we provide specialist rising damp solutions that are covered by a 30-year guarantee which can be passed on to future owners of the property for complete peace of mind.

How much you will need to pay to solve your rising damp problem is dependent on how severe and extensive the problem is. That is why we will always send a certified and qualified rising damp specialist to conduct a thorough survey on the property before providing you with a detailed breakdown of how they have arrived at their diagnosis, along with an itemised bill for a treatment plan should you choose to conduct it with us.

Due to this, and because each property is unique, it is impossible to provide an accurate or even a meaningful average cost figure without first conducting the survey.

The rising damp specialists at Rentokil Property Care are Certificated Surveyors in Remedial Treatment (CSRT) and our technicians are trained to exceed Property Care Association (PCA) standards. This means they can diagnose your rising damp issue and provide the most effective rising damp treatment available.

You can contact our expert team at Rentokil Property Care today on 0800 0121 437 or click the button below to book a survey.