Home is a place where we come to relax. A healthy microclimate allows us to fully restore mental and physical strength by the next morning. But what to do when you feel dampness on the walls and ceiling in the house? Let's take a closer look.
Sources of moisture
It should be understood that high humidity appears for a reason.
“How to get rid of the smell of dampness in the house?” - one of the most common questions. First of all, you should find the cause and location of this problem.
If you imagine a house as a structure, then several possible sources stand out:
- foundation;
- walls;
- roof;
- plumbing;
- ventilation.
Let's take a closer look at each type of structure, communications, the reasons that can lead to the appearance of moisture, as well as how to get rid of dampness in the house.
Foundation
The main problem of private housing is violation of construction technology:
- Lack of geodetic survey. The result is that the type of base structure has been chosen incorrectly.
- Poor waterproofing of the base leads to moisture penetration. A distinctive feature of concrete is its good ability to absorb water. Therefore, it is recommended to pay special attention to foundation waterproofing during construction work.
- No vents. Such devices must be present in the house. They are sources of natural ventilation of the underground space.
- Destruction of the base, appearance of cracks, violation of waterproofing.
- Underground. Supply and exhaust ventilation must be installed. Its absence can lead to increased humidity in this room, which will subsequently be transmitted to the entire structure. They also provide waterproofing and insulation of the subfloor ceiling.
- Close occurrence of groundwater.
- Plumbing can cause high humidity. Excessive condensation formation, system leakage.
As you can see, there can be many reasons, let’s look at how to get rid of dampness in the basement of a house.
Eliminating moisture due to foundation problems
The integrity of the foundation is maintained by its waterproofing; its violation leads to the destruction of the foundation.
Therefore, its examination allows us to determine the cause of moisture. Research to be done:
- The presence of vents on each side of the building. Their absence will lead to the formation of dampness. If this is the reason, then you will have to open up the floor step by step and make vents on each wall. This will provide the required natural ventilation of the underground space.
- Underground. The first is availability supply and exhaust ventilation. If it is missing, it needs to be done. Two holes are punched on opposite walls. One pipe is lowered to the floor at a distance of 200-300 mm from it, the second is mounted under the ceiling space. The second is the close occurrence of groundwater. Only high-quality waterproofing can save such a base from destruction and moisture. Moreover, it must be done both inside and outside. To prevent moisture from penetrating from the underground into the house, it is manufactured and insulated. In this case, maximum sealing should be achieved. This is done using polyurethane foam.
- If the building does not have an underground floor, then you will have to make holes to examine the foundation. This will allow for a qualitative assessment. If cracks or lack of waterproofing are found, a major restoration will have to be carried out. Only high-quality crack sealing and waterproofing will help solve the problem of getting rid of dampness in the house.
- Plumbing. Another reason for the appearance of moisture. They carry out a complete audit of communications and, if necessary, insulate, seal, and replace them.
- No tides, storm system. Leads to the accumulation of moisture near the foundation, which provokes its early destruction. This protection should be provided for the foundation.
Walls
There are not many reasons for dampness associated with this type of construction:
- Heating depressurization. Leak at hidden wiring not always determined.
- No hood. It is especially critical in rooms with an aggressive environment: bath, toilet, kitchen.
- Insufficient thickness of partitions, including capital ones. Causes condensation on their surfaces and windows during the cold season.
- Destructions, cracks.
As a rule, the integrity of the walls depends primarily on the quality of the foundation and roof. But let's look at how to get rid of dampness in the house if the main place where it appears is the walls.
Eliminating moisture due to wall problems
First of all, the existing ventilation systems are inspected and their performance is checked. Check with a lit match or candle. Fluctuation or fading of the flame indicates that the system is working. If the fire does not fluctuate, it means that the hood has failed. Accordingly, it needs to be cleaned. Particularly important is the performance of forced ventilation in the bathroom and kitchen.
If the main condensation accumulates on the walls, they are insulated using waterproofing. They insulate either the facade or internal surfaces. For an additional waterproofing effect, they are used. As for cracks and damage, they are sealed with plaster.
If a heating leak is detected, it is eliminated, wet surfaces are dried using heating. It all depends on the scale of the disaster. Let us note that moisture also accumulates from human activity. For such cases, you can use which will reduce the level of humidity in the room.
Roof
Very often moisture problems are associated with the roof. This can be determined by the location of the spot. If it appears on the ceiling, at the top of the wall, this indicates that it is time to examine the roof.
First, determine whether there is a drain on the roof and whether it is intact. They look through the roof. They find out whether there is destruction, whether waterproofing and insulation have been done. Below we will look at how to get rid of dampness in a private home if it is related to the roof.
Eliminating moisture due to roof problems
There are two main reasons:
- Gutter - a properly installed system serves to drain precipitation from the roof. This protects the walls and foundation from their impact. You should know that the drain is made with a slope, and all parts are hermetically connected. Water must be drained into the stormwater system.
- Roof. According to the technology, the roof must have double waterproofing, insulation, and a gap for natural ventilation of the under-roof space (this is the place where condensation most often forms). To assess the condition of the roof, it is better to contact a specialist who will determine the quality of the materials and whether they are installed correctly. It will also help to correctly eliminate shortcomings.
We looked at how you can get rid of dampness in a house, depending on the walls, foundation, roof, and communications. But there are features of dealing with high humidity, depending on the material from which the building is constructed.
How to get rid of dampness in a wooden house
Such buildings can collapse due to high humidity. When exposed to water, wood begins to rot, causing fungus and mold to form. Therefore, at the slightest manifestation of humidity, it is worth looking for the cause and eliminating it as an emergency.
To the previously listed features of the fight against dampness, you can add a number of characteristics characteristic of wooden housing:
- Foundation. The gasket between the base and the walls is made of two components: larch and waterproofing material. If the technology is broken, dampness will appear. This problem is solved with the help of an additional ventilation device, which must be installed so that moisture is not transferred to neighboring rooms.
- Intercrown seams. If this stage is performed poorly during construction, moisture may also appear. In such cases, the areas are treated with antiseptics and caulked, achieving maximum sealing.
- Humidity in the short period after construction. One of the factors is unseasoned lumber. Such buildings are subject to greater shrinkage than buildings made of quality wood. This can cause cracks and gaps to appear, which lead to drafts and dampness. The entire structure should be thoroughly dried.
If, however, the wood begins to darken, this is a reason to thoroughly dry the building. This is done in the summer, since it is desirable that the temperature inside and outside the building be the same. Next, the blackened areas are cleaned and treated with special compounds.
The smell of dampness in wooden house, which is quite difficult to get rid of, can also appear if used incorrectly. You cannot dry wet laundry in such buildings. It is better to provide a place for this on the street. It is necessary to make high-quality sealing of the bathroom and toilet.
How to get rid of dampness in a brick house
All of the previously listed measures will help cope with dampness in a brick building. But if the masonry has ever been exposed to a lot of water, then it must be dried. Sometimes this requires undoing the seams and sealing with new mortar. If brick walls are not dried in a timely manner, they will freeze in winter, which will significantly reduce the heat in the building. In advanced cases, frost may appear and the wallpaper may peel off.
High humidity and associated problems - mold and mildew - are not uncommon. A few tips on how to get rid of dampness in an apartment or private house will help you forget about this trouble. To combat dampness effectively, you need to determine the cause of its occurrence. This can be a consequence of life activity - steam from the bathroom or shower, things drying in the apartment - or defects made during construction. Often high humidity is a consequence of an improperly organized ventilation system or blockage of ventilation ducts.
"Symptoms" of high humidity
The normal relative humidity in an apartment is about 50%. If this indicator is exceeded, then this must be dealt with. You can measure humidity using a hydrometer, but there are some “symptoms” that clearly indicate that its level in the room is elevated:
Increased humidity in the bathroom and kitchen
Getting rid of dampness that appears after cooking, boiling things or bathing is quite easy. Most often, it is enough to organize ventilation. If for some reason this cannot be done, you can install a dehumidifier in your home. For these rooms, a model with a capacity of 10 liters per day is suitable. Since humidity due to life activity is not constant, it is better to choose a portable dehumidifier and use it, if necessary, in the room where you need to reduce the moisture at a particular moment.
This device will also help out during repairs, because industrial humidity appears in the house when plastering surfaces and wallpapering, and it is not always possible to remove it by ventilation. For the kitchen it will be important to use a hood of sufficient power. If things are often boiled there or food is prepared for a large family, then the hood capacity should be at least 500 m³/hour.
Organization of ventilation
Properly organized ventilation will help reduce humidity in the apartment and prevent problems associated with dampness. Of course you do major renovation Not everyone can decide to install ventilation shafts. In this case, a technological novelty is suitable - window pressure ventilators. They automatically create the necessary draft taking into account the difference in pressure outside and inside the house.
Hygro-controlled exhaust grilles installed in existing ventilation ducts are another useful device. Their action is based on regulating the draft flow depending on the humidity in the room. However, it is worth noting that if the channel is clogged or has insufficient diameter, then installing such equipment will not help remove dampness. In this case, first of all, it is necessary to clean the clogged shaft, and only then install forced ventilation.
How to deal with dampness in an apartment on the ground or floor
Apartments on the ground floor are chronically “sick” from high humidity. Getting rid of dampness in them is sometimes quite difficult, because the reason here may be due to improper construction of the foundation of the house. If such a defect is present, it is impossible to eliminate it yourself. In this case, only additional heating and forced ventilation will do.
If the cause of humidity is insufficient waterproofing, then the dampness can be reduced. To do this, it is necessary to arrange a coating or adhesive waterproofing of the floor with filling of cracks with waterproofing plasters. It is more difficult to cope with moisture penetration through interpanel seams. This problem is a construction defect, and it is felt by residents of all apartments in the building. To eliminate it, you can contact the Housing Office or collect necessary funds at a residents’ meeting and order seam sealing from professionals.
How to reduce moisture for residents of the top floors?
Residents on top floor suffer from dampness in the absence pitched roof. Moisture penetrates through the ceiling. It is impossible to eliminate its penetration by waterproofing the ceiling in the room, since any solution in this direction will be unreliable. The water will simply “bypass” the obstacle and go into the walls. But there is still a solution. In order to get rid of dampness, you need to insulate the floor on the floor above the apartment. This is the attic or, as it is officially called, the technical floor. When renovating, special attention should be paid to sealing joints and seams, since it is mainly through them that moisture enters the apartment.
There are cases when access to the attic is closed due to various reasons, for example, the premises have been rented or sold, and the new owner does not allow anyone there. Here the question of how to dry the air in an apartment becomes problematic. There is only one way out - waterproofing the roof. Not everyone can afford the financial investment for such repairs, so you will have to demand that the leaks be repaired from the organization servicing the house, or collect funds from all residents of the riser.
Private house and high humidity problems
In a private home, excess moisture may be a consequence of insufficient waterproofing of the foundation, moisture penetration through cracks in the walls, or insufficient ventilation. One of the reliable methods for eliminating dampness in a house is to install a proper drainage system on the site. This is especially true if there is a high groundwater level.
The second method is external and internal waterproofing of the base. External vertical insulation can be done after the construction of the house, but horizontal insulation is done only at the time of laying the foundation. We must not forget about floor insulation in a private house. A concrete floor is more reliable for preventing moisture penetration, but high-quality insulation can be provided for wooden floors.
Waterproofing walls in a private house can be done by applying a layer of plaster of the following composition:
This dry plaster mixture diluted with water and applied to the walls in the usual way. This will strengthen the walls and serve as a barrier to leaks.
When the humidity in the apartment is high, something needs to be done urgently, otherwise many problems may arise, including the formation and proliferation of fungus. In addition, dampness can lead to a musty smell in the room. That is why everyone should know how to remove excess moisture in an apartment.
It is advisable that the humidity in the room be at 60%. In hot summer weather this figure can be reduced to 45%. However, it should be remembered that a person feels uncomfortable in an overly dry room. That is why those who prefer to solve a similar problem with the help of an air conditioner should monitor the air condition and be aware of how to remove high humidity in the apartment. During operation, this climate control technology reduces the humidity level in the room. This must be taken into account when using it. 
On top of that, remember: if you prefer to dry things at home without ventilating the apartment, the air humidity will quickly increase, and such conditions will become ideal for the development of mold.
How to measure in a residential area?
You can determine that the moisture content in the air in an apartment exceeds the norm by looking at mold on the wallpaper and wet walls, and also using a hygrometer. Moreover, this household measuring device It's not very expensive. To control the level of dampness in a room, you just need to hang it on the wall like a regular thermometer. 
Harm from excess humidity in the apartment
Excessive dampness in a room will first of all have a bad effect on a person’s skin, for example, rashes will appear or even allergies will occur. In addition, excess moisture can provoke the development of other unpleasant diseases. First of all from high humidity Children and the elderly will suffer because their immunity is weakened.
Magazines and newspapers in a damp room become unusable over time. Also, due to excessive humidity, the room begins to smell like mold. Moreover, this unpleasant smell will quickly permeate clothes and furniture. In addition, with excess dampness, food spoils much faster, so you should figure out how to remove high humidity in the apartment so as not to constantly throw it away. 
The main reasons for the increase in indoor humidity
The reason may be poor-quality waterproofing of the walls of the house from the foundation. This happens due to a violation of technology during its construction. In such a situation, it will be difficult to get rid of the problem, since such construction defects are practically irreparable, but it is still worth finding out how you can remove the humidity in the apartment in order to improve living conditions.
The most common cause of excess humidity in rooms is a violation of natural ventilation. Often, after replacing old windows with new, more airtight double-glazed windows, dampness develops in the apartment. This usually happens due to a violation of air circulation, which causes humidity to appear, which condenses on windows, walls and even provokes the growth of mold.
There is another source of increased humidity in the apartment - the release of water into the air when family members breathe. And we are talking here not about milliliters per day, but about liters. Therefore, you should definitely find out how to remove humidity in an apartment, otherwise you will not be able to avoid negative consequences. 
In addition, constant drying of laundry indoors can worsen the humidity situation. Another factor that increases moisture is heating. Moreover, even when the radiators in the room do not heat well, dampness may appear.
If the roof of a house is leaking, then high humidity can be eliminated only after it is repaired.
How to remove humidity in an apartment?
To normalize the microclimate in the room, there is no need to curtain the windows on sunny days in damp rooms. You should not dry your laundry in the apartment; it is better to hang it on the balcony or loggia.
Many people, when faced with a similar problem, look for any information on how to remove humidity in an apartment using household appliances. Today, many different devices that absorb moisture are sold. They contain an absorbent substance that absorbs all excess water from the air.
To prevent an increase in humidity in the apartment, you must always ventilate the rooms after the following manipulations:
It is recommended to install a hood, especially when the cause of increased moisture is gas stove or a shower with constant fumes.
PVC profile windows can also lead to increased humidity in the room. When the glass unit is hermetically sealed, the air exchange between internal space at home and on the street. To prevent this from happening, it is better to buy plastic windows that have a built-in ventilation system.
Candles, hair dryers, heating devices and even indoor plants will help eliminate dampness in the apartment. But the most effective method reducing humidity - air conditioning. IN modern models in addition to cooling and heating, there are such additional functions as dehumidification and air purification.
Dampness in an apartment can occur if the plumbing is in poor condition. To reduce air humidity, you will have to eliminate the causes of the leak, for example, by replacing outdated pipes.
How to remove humidity in an apartment using folk remedies?
If walls without wallpaper are covered with mold, you can get rid of it using a solution of laundry soap. It's easy to do: detergent dissolve in 5 liters of water, then bring to a boil. The resulting mixture is applied evenly to the walls with a brush and left until completely dry. The procedure should be repeated several times until soap marks form on the surface. Then they can be treated with another composition, to create which you will need 6 liters of water and 100 grams of alum.
Many people are interested in knowing how to remove humidity in an apartment using grandma’s method. For example, calcium chloride, which perfectly absorbs moisture, will also help combat this problem. Containers with it are placed in raw corners rooms. But in order to use calcium again, it will first have to be dried in the oven and then crushed. By the way, you can use charcoal or quicklime instead of this product.
Other tricks for eliminating excess moisture in the air
Before removing high humidity in an apartment, you should familiarize yourself with other traditional methods to choose the most suitable option. For example, you can get rid of dampness using bricks. They must be heated and placed against the moldy wall on any fire-resistant surface. It is advisable to do this until you can get rid of the dampness. It should be taken into account that after 10 heatings the bricks stop absorbing moisture. In addition, there should not be any flammable objects near them.
But to combat black mold spots on surfaces in damp rooms, you will need a solution of the following ingredients:
The walls must first be dried, and then the antibacterial substance must be dissolved in alcohol and diluted with water. The resulting composition should be applied directly to the mold stains. This folk remedy will help quickly eliminate them, and it will also prevent the occurrence of dampness. 
How to avoid high humidity in the room?
If you do not want to face such a problem, you need to carefully choose your indoor plants. Remember that tropical flowers need frequent watering. It is better to give preference to cacti, although some of them are not very attractive.
When renovating rooms with high humidity, it is advisable to purchase materials at mineral based, since they are able to regulate the level of dampness in the room and do not create a greenhouse effect.
When fighting excess moisture in the air, most people forget that dryness is no less dangerous for human health, which is why it is so important to maintain the microclimate in the apartment at an optimal level.
Options for getting rid of dampness indoors
Excessive dampness often becomes a diagnosis of private houses, city high-rises and dachas. In the cold season, it manifests itself as mold on the walls and windows. Many owners begin and end the fight only with the fungus, because it has a sharply negative effect on the health of the residents. In this case, the root cause - increased humidity - is ignored, so the mold soon returns. Only an analysis of the situation and an integrated approach will help you get rid of dampness.
Causes of high humidity
There are several hundred types of household mold in nature. The main factor in their appearance in residential premises is excessive dampness. The fungus forms in places with poor ventilation on surfaces prone to sudden temperature changes. In other words, if in your home cold wall, a dark coating will appear in poorly ventilated corners as soon as you turn on the heating system.
In high-rise buildings, mold can occur due to global disturbances in the air circulation system. Check the draft in your ventilation ducts using a regular match. Its weakening or cessation occurs for the following reasons:
It is difficult to eliminate ventilation in a high-rise building. Building management companies, as a rule, do this only if a global restructuring or reconstruction of the building is planned. You will have to rely on folk remedies to eliminate dampness in the room. In the private sector, such problems are relatively easier to solve, because everything depends only on the owner.
Attention! On the first floors of apartment buildings or in private houses, dampness may appear due to flooding of the basement due to a burst of water supply, groundwater, or poor thermal insulation between the wall and the foundation. Mold forms at the bottom of the wall.
Step 1. Fight against fungal plaque
To get rid of dampness, first of all you need to identify and eliminate all fungal plaque on the walls. Delay can cause the development of diseases. Fungal spores enter the lungs with air and disrupt the functioning of the respiratory system. Dampness and mold can cause acute respiratory infections, bronchitis, asthma and other respiratory diseases, including tuberculosis. In addition, it suppresses the immune system. For residents of the house, especially children and the elderly, this manifests itself in a deterioration in health, allergic reactions and exacerbation of all kinds of ailments.
During the cleaning process, it is important not only to clean, but also to disinfect all surfaces where there is fungus. Use any suitable means:
Attention! Wear gloves and a mask when working with any type of cleaning agent against dampness and fungus.
It is important that close contact does not introduce large quantities of spores into your respiratory tract. When using special store-bought products, never mix one with the other. This may cause a chemical reaction with harmful consequences for you. The video will help you understand in more detail how to combat mold and dampness.
If mold has extensively covered the surface of the wallpaper, get ready to rip it off the wall. The mycelium of the fungus is located under the paper layer. There are no means to kill it without damaging the wallpaper itself. In this case, the plaster will probably also have to be removed. First, thoroughly clean the surface of fungus, and then treat it with an antiseptic. For example, an aqueous solution of office glue (1:4) or urea. Before any further work to get rid of dampness, the wall section must be completely dry.
Step 2. Finding and eliminating the root cause of dampness
Diagnosing the problem is the key to getting rid of dampness. Take the glass, press it against the wall and fix it in this position. After 2-3 hours, remove and check the surface:
- dry - source of indoor humidity;
- damp - dampness penetrates from outside.
In the second case it is easier to understand. Your task is to reduce the temperature difference from which the walls suffer due to dampness. There are two ways to do this. It's better to use them in combination.
- Thermal insulation of the wall. Cover it with breathable insulating material. Today many people choose external insulation, but experts advise first of all to carry out work inside.
- Check and, if necessary, upgrade the heating system. Perhaps it is cluttered or not powerful enough to warm up and protect certain corners of the house from dampness.
Advice. Often, large-sized furniture becomes the cause of the formation of harmful plaque if it interferes with the normal ventilation of the wall adjacent to the street. Do some rearranging.
Traditional methods to get rid of dampness due to poor ventilation:
- white mold usually appears in flower pots as a reaction to excessive moisture or the use of certain fertilizers. Human exposure may manifest as an allergy;
- green mold may appear on food: eating contaminated food risks causing serious illness. Green mold also occasionally affects building materials, such as brick;
- black mold– enemy number 1. This is the most common type of mold and can affect any surface: wallpaper, paint, plaster, boards, concrete, etc. If left untreated, it can subsequently cause insomnia, dizziness, fever, headaches, and in the worst case, asthma, bronchitis, dermatitis, pneumonia and even lung cancer;
blue mold often appears on wooden surfaces in the house: parquet, frames, furniture, etc. They begin to acquire an unpleasant dull blue tint, the paint layer is destroyed, and even the paint coating cannot save it;- mold rotting- another enemy of wood. Depending on certain features, the tree may acquire a gray or brown tint, become lighter, cracks appear on it, etc.
high humidity combined with poor ventilation, which often happens in the kitchen or bathroom, in apartments on the first floors, houses where humidification is abused, etc.;- freezing of walls;
- ground dampness;
- leaking water pipes;
- roof leaks;
- poorly heated room.
- clean the affected surface from mold;
- treat the surface with a mold repellent;
- Throw away all items severely damaged by fungus;
- create normal conditions in the room: good ventilation, normal heating, eliminate all sources of high humidity.
- reliably insulate an apartment or house;
- repair or replace the heating system;
- install an air conditioner to dry the air;
- adjust the ventilation system;
- dry clothes not in the room, but on the balcony, or purchase a washing machine with a drying function;
- use a hood when preparing food;
- ventilate all rooms well;
- eliminate leaks in the roof, taps, etc.;
- geraniums and violets are an excellent place for mold to grow, so their presence in the apartment should be limited;
- The most risky places from the point of view of the appearance of mold should be regularly wiped and sprayed with anti-fungal agents.
- Poor insulation between foundation and wall.
- Damp basement with pipes constantly leaking.
- Poor ventilation.
- So, a special product that can be purchased at any supermarket will help get rid of mold and dampness in the house. However, this remedy may not seem effective if the cause of the mold lies in other factors. For example, the use of special means will be a useless measure if there are problems with ventilation or airing in the house. If the building was constructed incorrectly, the remedy may also not be effective. After all, you need to fight the main causes of mold.
- Mold on the walls in the house can form due to poor heating. Indeed, block walls can let the cold through. In addition, they are filled with bulky furniture that does not allow heat to pass through. All these reasons contribute to the formation of mold, which releases dampness and unpleasant substances into the indoor air for years. Some people believe that such problems are very easy to solve with the help of a special product from the supermarket. However, it is not. This will require drastic methods. Even an air conditioner that simply circulates damp air around the apartment will not bring the desired effect. But there is no need to despair! After all, if the house is constantly damp, you should simply install plastic windows that will not have partitions. The window will allow natural light to constantly enter the house. In addition, with such an item you can provide high-quality and constant ventilation of the room.
- Mold is very difficult to combat. And every homeowner with such an unpleasant problem should remember this. In this case, you will need not only patience, but also a lot of effort. To make your family nest comfortable and cozy, you need to remove fungus and mold from the walls of the house. For such work, you will need to purchase a high-quality antiseptic that will clean the walls of fungus and make them aesthetically pleasing again.
- If the walls of the house are covered with wallpaper, then they are removed. In addition, plaster affected by fungus is removed. In order not to harm your health, all work must be done wearing a mask. Before treating with an antiseptic, the walls must be cleaned of fungus and mold. Only after this can they be treated with antiseptic and creosote. Other compounds can also be used to treat walls. For example, you can dilute office glue with water in a ratio of 1:4. Walls can be treated with urea. All of the above products should be applied only to the affected areas of the walls. Before application, the affected areas on the walls must be heated to 50 degrees. After finishing the work, the walls must be completely dry.
None of the things we know can resist mold. finishing materials. But besides harming the repair, it also toxic to human body , especially children's. Depending on the level of mold spread in the apartment, the symptoms may be different: first there is an impact on the respiratory system, and then on the entire body as a whole. Certificate negative influence fungus causes coughing, runny nose, lack of air, difficult-to-diagnose chronic diseases - all this is the reason for being in a damp room contaminated with mold.
Mold can also cause nausea, vomiting, headaches, and fatigue. In addition to the fact that it looks unaesthetic, it also has a destructive effect on building materials: it penetrates the structure, quickly spreads and occupies more and more areas. That is why, after detecting even hints of mold, it must be eliminated immediately.
Causes and signs of mold
To get rid of mold once and for all, it is enough to clearly determine the cause of its appearance in your apartment and eliminate it. The fact is that fungal spores are present in any room, but the basis for their development is favorable conditions, which become reasons for the appearance of moldy spots in different parts of your home:
Everyone has probably already encountered the phenomenon of mold and can easily recognize it: it is the appearance of an unpleasant damp smell, spots of black, gray or white. To get rid of mold forever, you need to apply a set of measures, and in addition to the means described below aimed at combating already existing fungus, be sure to eliminate the cause of its appearance.
In general, all work to combat mold in the house comes down to the following list of measures:
At the moment, a lot of anti-mold remedies have been invented, each of them is applicable in certain conditions and differs in some features.
Ways to get rid of mold
How to fight mold by special means, which are sold in sufficient assortment on store shelves, and folk ways. The latter will be less harmful to the person himself, will cost less, and are not always inferior in effectiveness to their professional counterparts.
Method number 1. Antiseptic primer
This is the most proven method that will definitely help in the fight against fungus. IN construction stores Such products are presented in a wide range: Fongifluid Alpa, Dali, Olympus Stop-mold, Biotol-spray, etc. Applying them to an infected surface not only helps get rid of the fungus, but also prevents its occurrence in the future.
Working with such a solution is very simple: it is either sold ready-made or requires the addition of a clearly defined amount of water, as indicated in the instructions. Next, you just need to apply the resulting composition to the required surface, and you’re done.
Important: you need to apply an antiseptic primer only to a well-cleaned surface, so all material affected by fungus must be carefully removed, and if it has become deeply ingrained, then you will need to clean all layers down to the brick or concrete slab. Then the primer is evenly applied with a regular paint brush onto a dry surface. When the protective layer has dried, you can begin finishing: gluing wallpaper, painting walls, plastering, etc.
Method number 2. Bleach
Bleach is an easier way to get rid of mold in your home, a worthy replacement professional means. Regular bleach contains sodium hypochlorite (it is also present in many special products as a active substance), which has a detrimental effect on mold and its spores, so this reliable way get rid of almost all types of mold. But you can’t use bleach on all surfaces, as they can fade, deteriorate, etc. Bleach is great for glass, tiles, bathtubs, and other non-porous materials, but it won't work on drywall, wood, etc. The fact is that the active substance, chlorine, in this case does not penetrate into the material where the mold particles are located, but acts only on the surface. And the water that is part of such a solution is absorbed by porous materials, leading to even greater mold development.
Working with bleach can hardly be called safe, as it can corrode the skin of your hands and cause poisoning with toxic fumes. Therefore, it can only be used in a well-ventilated area and wearing rubber protective gloves. The solution is prepared from bleach and water in a ratio of 1:10, applied with a brush and wait until completely dry. As in the previous case, the previously damaged surface must be cleaned.
Regular vinegar, which everyone has in their kitchen, is a weak acid that is poisonous to many types of mold. Its advantage is that it does not emit any dangerous fumes, so it is completely safe to use.
Vinegar is sprayed onto the prepared surface, and then wiped with a dampened rag; after an hour, the surface is washed with water and the room is well ventilated. In particularly damaged areas, it is better to carry out this procedure several times at intervals of one week.
Method number 4. Hydrogen peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide is another poison for most types of mold. You can buy a 3% peroxide solution at any pharmacy; its smell is not so harmful to humans, so working with it is more or less convenient. It should be applied to a prepared surface cleaned of mold, but since peroxide also has a bleaching effect, it is better not to apply it to painted surfaces, but to choose a different method.
Method No. 5. Ammonia
Ammonia works similarly to bleach: it works great on mold on hard, non-porous surfaces, but is not very effective on porous materials. It does its job perfectly when mold has formed on e.g. tiles or glass.
Ammonia must be mixed with water in a 1:1 ratio and sprayed onto the contaminated surface, and after an hour, rinse the solution with water and ventilate the room well. You need to work with ammonia very carefully, as its pungent odor can cause dizziness, headaches, etc. Be careful not to try to use it in combination with bleach, as the reaction between the two will release toxic gases.
Method number 6. Baking soda
Baking soda is one of the easiest and safest ways to get rid of mold, and it does not harm either humans or pets. It is enough to prepare a solution of soda - dissolve a teaspoon in a glass of water - and spray the surface affected by mold with the resulting mixture. You can also wipe moldy things, walls, objects with a sponge soaked in this solution. After an hour, the surface needs to be washed with water, but it is not recommended to completely wash off the soda solution from it: soda is not capable of harming the material, but it perfectly protects against the recurrence of fungus.
Borax – natural material, therefore it cannot harm human health. It is often used to disinfect toilets and drains, acts as an effective fungicide, insecticide and herbicide, in general, it is an inhibitor of mold growth and a toxin for it.
It is recommended that before starting mold cleaning work, first vacuum the surface with a fine filter, so that during the process as few pores as possible fly in the air and enter the respiratory system. The working solution is prepared as follows: 1 glass of borax is diluted in 2.5 liters of water. The borax solution is applied to the surface with a stiff brush, while simultaneously removing the fungus itself from walls, objects, floors, etc. It is advisable to walk over the surface with such a solution several times; there is no need to wash off anything, since in the future the borax will become a reliable protector against mold.
Method No. 8. Tea tree oil
Tea tree oil is one of the most effective natural remedies that are absolutely harmless to humans. Although this oil is not cheap, you will need very little of it; it has strong antibacterial and antifungal agents.
For one glass of water you will need a teaspoon of tea tree oil. This mixture is added to a spray bottle and applied to the damaged surface, or used to apply it to a sponge; there is no need to wash it off, since this solution will reliably protect against possible reappearance fungus.
Tea tree has its own specific smell, but it is harmless and will disappear after a while. By the way, the prepared solution for combating mold can be stored for as long as desired, since it does not lose its strength over time and does not deteriorate.
Method number 9. Grapefruit Seed Extract
This product is similar in action to tea tree oil; it is also expensive, but it is odorless and has a disinfectant and deodorizing effect.
The solution is very simple to prepare: one glass of water requires only 10 drops of grapefruit seed extract. Again, we use a sprayer for application, and after application we do not wash off the solution, since the longer its contact with the damaged surface, the better, and in the future this solution will protect walls and floors from the appearance of new mold stains.
Method No. 10. Potassium permanganate solution
Ordinary potassium permanganate also has a detrimental effect on mold. The damaged surface can be treated with a weak solution of potassium permanganate: add a teaspoon of potassium permanganate to 1 liter of water, and spray or wipe the damaged areas with the resulting composition. The solution does not need to be washed off; it will be effective for some time.
Method No. 11. Lavender and Rosemary Fragrance Oil
These oils contain substances that can counteract the development and activity of mold, so just add a few drops of aromatic oil to a glass of water and then treat the surface: there will be no unpleasant odor of chemicals, these oils are non-toxic for humans, and they perfectly kill most types of mold .
Method No. 12. Stationery glue
Many craftsmen get rid of mold using office glue, which is diluted one to one with water. The method is effective in some cases, but it does not cope with all types of mold, and if the affected area is not very large.
Method No. 13. Iodine solution and camphor balls
An iodine solution and camphor balls will only help if you have just discovered small traces of mold, and you don’t want to use more aggressive means of control yet. Therefore, in an infected room, you can place containers with iodine solution or place camphor balls.
Method No. 14. Lemon acid
To combat fungus, use citric acid or lemon juice, which have the same properties as vinegar - it is a weak organic acid that negatively affects the development of fungus. Dissolve a teaspoon in a glass of water citric acid, and the surface is treated with the resulting solution. This method is great for tiles.
Method No. 15. Hydrogen peroxide+vinegar+boric acid
All these components are able to cope with mold on top level, and all together they give an absolutely amazing effect. Water must be mixed with peroxide, vinegar and boric acid in a ratio of 4:2:2:1, and then spray or wipe the surface.
Method No. 16. Let's get rid of it for sure
Even if you have dealt with the mold that has formed in accordance with all the instructions, there is still no guarantee that it will not appear again. It is important not only to remove the fungus that has already appeared, but also to eliminate all possible reasons for its reappearance. This is why you need:
How to remove mold smell?
Often, after removing mold from an apartment and subsequent ventilation, the smell of rot still does not leave the room. You can fight it with products that absorb odors. So, you can pour baking soda on the place where the fungus used to be, and after a few hours remove it with a vacuum cleaner: soda perfectly absorbs odors, so after this procedure the smell will either disappear or become much weaker.
You can use charcoal as an odor absorber: briquettes are simply placed around a room with an unpleasant odor, and after a while not a trace of it will remain.
Mold in each room has its own characteristics, so the approaches to combating it should be slightly different.
Removing mold from walls
At the first signs of mold, you need to act immediately, since within 10-12 months it can reach concrete or brickwork. Therefore, you should remove the damaged layer of finishing, wet the wall a little so that mold spores do not scatter throughout the room, and remove the layer of plaster, then thoroughly clean off all the plaque and thoroughly sweep the room, dry the walls and treat with the selected anti-mold preparation.
If the walls are painted, then the mold spreads more over the area than inside, and after removal paint coating, you can begin the process of neutralization, moving from simpler means to the most powerful.
Plasterboard ceilings and walls differ in their structure: they are porous, so you need to take into account that mold can develop deep into the material. In this case, professional products are suitable.
In rooms on wallpaper, fungus spreads at lightning speed, so in most cases you will have to remove the wallpaper. This can only be avoided by initial stages mold development.
In this case, a solution of vinegar, ammonia, special compounds, lavender oil, a solution of potassium permanganate or a solution of hydrogen peroxide are ideal for fighting fungus. But still, it is unlikely that you will have to avoid dismantling at least part of the wallpaper, since all of the listed means can slightly change its color, and the likelihood that mold is already firmly entrenched in the apartment and is developing under the wallpaper is high.
Removing mold from the bathtub
In the bathroom, the most vulnerable places are the joints between the plumbing and the wall, treated with sealant, as well as the seams between the tiles. A black coating very quickly appears there, which is not washed off - mold.
In this method you need to follow the old scheme: remove the affected area, i.e. moldy sealant, treat it with the selected product, and reapply the sealant. The seams between the tiles are cleaned with a metal scraper, and then grout with antiseptic properties is used there.
If mold appears on the ceiling, then moisten the area a little with water and leave for 2-3 hours, then remove the whitewash and plaster, and putty all the resulting unevenness. Next, we use a primer that contains antifungal agents, and after it dries, we apply a penetrating primer. All that remains is to sand the surface, and the ceiling is ready for further finishing.
You can also get by by applying a solution of bleach, soda, vinegar or tea tree to the affected area of the bathroom ceiling.
We often underestimate the harm that seemingly ordinary mold can cause us. It is extremely dangerous not only for building materials, but also for health, so you need to start fighting it when it first appears. But at the same time, it is important to eliminate the causes of mold in order to get rid of them, otherwise all efforts may be ineffective.
How to get rid of dampness in a room using folk remedies
All about concrete and gypsum products
Increased humidity in the house can be caused by various reasons. Almost every second owner of an apartment and private house faces this phenomenon. Humidity causes mold.
Therefore, it is imperative to combat excess humidity in the house. The source that causes this phenomenon should be found and appropriate measures taken. It is worth saying that fungus and mold appear in the house precisely because of high humidity. In addition, dampness worsens the health of all residents living in the house. Therefore, today the portal Beton-Area.com will talk about how to get rid of dampness in the house folk remedies?
High humidity in the house: how to deal with it
Why does dampness appear in the house?
The cause of dampness is directly sought in the territory of the house itself. To quickly get rid of dampness in the house, you need to find the place where mold accumulates, and only then think about what can be done in such a situation. If the wall facing the street is subject to increased dampness, then it must be lined with reliable insulating material. Mold does not only appear in private homes. Quite often mold occurs in modern apartments. This problem worries the owners of apartments on the first floor very seriously. Typically, in such rooms, mold forms in the lower part of the walls. A number of unpleasant reasons contribute to this. It could be:
It is worth saying that eliminating dampness in a private home is much easier. After all, you just need to organize proper ventilation or install thermal insulation materials. In apartment buildings it is very difficult to combat this phenomenon. Here, the main reasons for the appearance of this factor are hidden in the first stages of construction. And if the developer misses important points, then the apartment will always cause unpleasant problems for its owners. Moreover, being in this room will adversely affect the health of all household members. People who are constantly in an apartment with high humidity can get sick: asthma, tuberculosis and other more serious diseases.
What methods will help get rid of dampness in a private home?
Now it’s time to understand what to do about dampness at home and how to get rid of this unpleasant phenomenon in your home. It is imperative to combat dampness in the house.
In this case, you need to use all modern methods.
How to get rid of dampness in an apartment and in a house? This question will be relevant at any time. It was said above that this process is difficult and painstaking. In addition, after removing mold in the room, it is necessary to create special conditions that will prevent the formation of mold and increased dampness.
Increased humidity in the house: methods of control, causes
So, it will help to prevent the appearance of mold and dampness in the apartment sunlight and fresh air. In addition, you should not cover all the walls in the room with furniture. Some plants can increase humidity in rooms. Therefore, it is necessary to remove from the room where there is high humidity: geraniums and violets. If there is a normal level of humidity in your home, then you can forget about mold and mildew for a long time. Experts do not recommend drying wet laundry in an apartment or house. In addition, for repairs you need to purchase dry construction mixtures.
A good effect can be achieved by insulating facades using insulation or polystyrene foam. Dampness in an apartment is quite common. Therefore, everyone should know how to get rid of this phenomenon. In a room with high humidity there should be normal air circulation.
That's why interior doors It's better to keep them open. But the doors to the kitchen should be closed while cooking. In this case, it is recommended to use a hood and vents to ventilate the kitchen.
For high-quality ventilation of the bathroom and toilet, you need to equip it with good ventilation. There is no need to invent something new or look for expensive solutions.
To maintain good health and excellent well-being, it is imperative to remove mold, mildew and high humidity from rooms. In addition, you need to monitor the condition of your home and prevent this problem from occurring. For example, if an apartment or house is equipped with poor-quality heating, then you need to purchase a heating convector that will dry the walls with warm air. During wet cleaning You should wipe the floor well and monitor the condition of the walls, on which the appearance of fungus has already been recorded.
If all methods to combat the fungus have already been tried, if there is no good result, or there is no time to deal with such problems at all, you need to contact a special company that will send competent employees to combat this problem.
With the onset of cold weather, windows in houses and apartments increasingly remain closed. The sun's rays do not provide heating to the premises, and precipitation contributes to the formation of dampness inside. Residents of housing have a problem: how to get rid of excess moisture in the apartment.
Excessive humidity promotes the formation of mold, the proliferation of fungi and mites, and also worsens the comfort in your home. As a result, people may develop diseases: colds, weakness, joint pain.
Reasons for dampness in an apartment
- poor ventilation;
- poor foundation waterproofing;
- The heating system does not work;
- washing and drying clothes indoors;
- works poorly or is absent in the kitchen;
- the presence of a large number of plants;
- fumes from cooking;
- external conditions.
The causes of dampness and ways to get rid of moisture in a private home are presented in the table.
Remedy |
|
Poor foundation protection | Creation of drainage; materials with polymer additives. |
Ceiling leak | Sealing floor slab joints with expanding cement, sealant or waterproof putty. |
Wet walls | Insulation and waterproofing outside; sealing seams with mortar. |
Roof leaks | Repair of roofing and drainage systems; attic insulation. |
Ventilation fails | And installation of additional ventilation. |
Before eliminating the problem, you must first establish the reasons for its occurrence by inspecting the premises. Protection from moisture is done first in the most vulnerable places.
What should the air humidity be?
There must be a device in the room that detects humidity. The optimal value is 60%. In hot weather it drops to 45%. The body feels discomfort in excessively dry or humid climates. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor the air condition in your home. Users of air conditioners should be aware that when they are turned on, the humidity decreases. In humid climates this creates favorable conditions, but in dry climates the indoor conditions become worse.
Why is air humidity reduced in a home?
Leads to allergic diseases, people are more susceptible to runny nose, migraines, and deterioration of the cardiovascular system. When dampness appears, you must immediately decide how to get rid of excess moisture in the apartment.
The microclimate in apartments has changed due to modern living standards. People began to take baths, wash clothes, and dry things more often. Over the course of a week, up to 30 liters of water evaporation occurs per person. To avoid negative consequences due to high humidity, it is necessary to find the reasons for its occurrence.
Fighting dampness in the apartment
If excess fumes appear during cooking, they can be reduced by installing an additional fan on the kitchen hood. The air must circulate so that moisture does not settle on the walls and glass. Additional ventilation of the premises helps here. For the hood to work effectively, air must flow through the vents.
To reduce evaporation, pots should be covered with lids when cooking. You can also turn on forced ventilation.
The poor condition of the ceiling also affects the microclimate in the room. It can be plastered again.
What are the reasons and how to get rid of excess moisture in the apartment? When plastic windows appeared in apartments, the problem worsened due to their tightness. Frames must be equipped with built-in ventilation. If you managed to get rid of excess moisture on the window, this is an indication that a normal microclimate has been established in the apartment.
A cold wall can cause dampness. This is especially noticeable in panel houses. Usually the walls are insulated, then covered with plasterboard. In this case, they are first sealed expansion joints between panels. This is done from the outside, since the walls are covered with plaster from the inside.
On the first floors you can often notice the appearance of salt deposits or mold at the bottom of the wall. This may be due to damp coming from the basement or poor thermal insulation floor. In this case, it is sealed and insulated. Check to see if there are any leaks in heating pipes or plumbing.
Ways to reduce humidity in a private home
Before deciding how to get rid of excess moisture in the house, you should identify the reasons for its appearance.
How to get rid of moisture on windows?
Drops on glass appear primarily due to high humidity in the room.
You should get rid of excess moisture on the window by increasing air circulation, including around it. To prevent condensation from settling, multi-chamber double-glazed windows are purchased. In addition, at expensive models There are air microcirculation systems. It's not worth saving on this.
The window sill should not block heating radiators. If decorative grilles are used for them, it is necessary to take devices with increased power.
Do the kitchen windows often fog up? A hood does this well. If it is not enough, install another one.
Ways to combat mold and fungi
Mold produces spores that are extremely dangerous to the human respiratory system. It can often be seen in the bathroom in the form of characteristic black and green dots and spots. The fungus is detected by its characteristic unpleasant smell. It spreads quickly and does not disappear on its own without special measures.
Mold and mildew can be eliminated using special means. They are also toxic and should be used according to the instructions provided. An effective antiseptic with antimicrobial and fungicidal effects. It is important to choose the right composition, since many of their types act selectively.
The work consists first of all of completely cleaning the contaminated areas. To do this, plaster is applied and cleaned from the wall. Then the infected area is treated with an antiseptic. Afterwards the walls are dried, and then the coating is restored.
Rules for preventing the appearance of fungi
How to get rid of excess moisture in the house? Doing this is much easier than subsequently dealing with emerging fungi and mold. The actions are as follows.
- Availability of sufficient light in the premises.
- Constantly open doors and ventilation in the bathroom and kitchen.
- Maintaining indoor humidity no higher than 35%.
- Ventilate all rooms at least twice a day with the windows wide open.
- Wiping walls and floors antifungal agent once a month.
- Do not keep geraniums and African violets indoors - sources of fungi.
A good way to prevent deposits is a household dehumidifier. It is easy to carry to different rooms. The power is selected to be large, and the device is automatic to maintain the specified humidity. The heated towel rail works great against dampness, problem solver How to get rid of moisture in the bathroom.
Conclusion
When dampness appears in your home, you must first establish the causes and places of occurrence, and then solve the problem. And then the question of how to get rid of excess moisture in the apartment will cease to be relevant for you.
5 minutes to read. Published 10/20/2018
Before deciding how to get rid of dampness in an apartment, you need to find out: the moisture comes from outside or is generated inside the room.
To do this, you need to take a small piece of glass, press it tightly against the wall and hold it for a while. If, after tearing the glass away from the wall, it is wet, you can be sure that the dampness is coming from outside. Otherwise, you need to look for an internal reason.
What is the reason
What can cause high humidity in an apartment? First of all, the absence or poor performance of ventilation. First, check whether you covered it with wallpaper or when installing kitchen appliances.
This reason can be easily eliminated: cut out the desired square on the wallpaper on the spot ventilation grille or make the correct drainage of household appliances.
Perhaps your upstairs neighbors are flooding you. Carefully inspect the ceiling throughout the apartment, especially in the bathroom, toilet, and kitchen. If you find wet spots on the ceiling or adjacent walls, go to your neighbor to sort things out.
The accumulation of moisture in your room could have formed due to poor thermal insulation of the walls or flaws in the seams of the house construction. In this case, these shortcomings must be eliminated.
How to prevent
If you dry a large amount of laundry at home, high humidity in the apartment cannot be avoided. It’s worth thinking about, maybe there is a way to stretch out the washing over time, and use the balcony rather than the bathroom to dry clothes.
If there is chronic dampness in the house, it is worth buying a dehumidifier, preferably with an automatic mode. It will independently maintain optimal humidity in the apartment.
If the source of dampness is in the bathroom, install an electric one there.
. It will dry not only the towels, but also the air in the room.
Any damp room should be periodically heated, dried and ventilated. This must be done even in winter. When preparing food in the kitchen, use
. It will successfully cope with the absorption of moisture formed during cooking.
First floor
The reason for the dampness in the first floor apartment is the flooding of the basement. If this happens constantly, and complaints to the housing office do not yield results, you should think about installing waterproofing. But it also does not provide a complete guarantee against dampness.
The apartment on the ground floor also needs additional heating.
How the room is heated - by the rays of the sun, warm air from the air conditioner or a heated floor with a built-in electric heater - does not matter. By heating the apartment, you will drive moisture out of it.
If you are wondering how to get rid of dampness in an apartment on the 1st floor, know: the flow of moisture from basement sharply intensifies in spring and autumn.
Therefore, if you correctly place heating devices in the room, the problem will be solved. There is no need to be afraid of excessive energy consumption: you will only need to turn them on twice a year, in spring and autumn, for periods lasting a maximum of a month.
Fifth floor
If you are faced with the opposite problem and do not know how to get rid of dampness in an apartment on the top (stained) floor, perhaps these tips will help you.
In a Khrushchev building on the 5th floor, the cause of dampness is usually external. High humidity here is a direct consequence of the lack gable roof, wall insulation, poor quality interpanel seams, cast iron batteries heating with extremely low efficiency.
Ironically, technological progress only exacerbates these problems. The design of the Khrushchev house assumes that fresh air constantly enters the room through the cracks in the windows and goes out through the ventilation shafts.
Installing plastic windows blocks the flow of air from outside. And the ventilation is on top floor A five-story building does not work well, since mainly the lower floors are ventilated in such a structure. As a result, on the 5th floor there is always
in the corners and rivers on the windowsill.
To solve the problem, you need to install an alpine window. This is a system of valves punched into the walls of each room in combination with a powerful hood.
Fresh air enters the apartment through the valves, and the exhaust extracts exhaust air from it. wet air.
It’s easy to verify its effectiveness in winter: large icicles are sure to form on the valve pipes outside in cold weather. This is moisture from the air in your apartment.
Folk remedies
Is it possible to get rid of dampness in an apartment using time-tested folk remedies? Let's turn to the experience of our grandmothers.
Salt, sugar, and coffee beans perfectly absorb moisture from the air. If you place open bags or jars with these products in the corners of the room, in closets, the apartment will “dry out”.
For the same purpose, indoor furniture should be regularly wiped with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. At
Wipe all wet surfaces dry. After each cleaning, thoroughly ventilate the room.
Anti-mildew
The mold must be scraped off the wall, then the walls must be coated with a solution of copper sulfate or a special antifungal mixture.
You can use bleach, bleach, soda, vinegar, tea tree oil and regular soap solution for this.
Must be done at home high-quality ventilation– fresh air will prevent mold from developing.
It is better to use when cooking forced ventilation. You should also repair leaking water pipes in a timely manner, do not overcool the room, and wring out the laundry well before drying.
For the winter you should
with a special cord in a cotton sheath or porous pads. Seal gaps in frames with regular window paper.
And from replacement wooden windows If you have problems with dampness, it is better to refrain from using plastic ones.
If you still decide to install plastic windows, consider a ventilation system. Fresh air will no longer be able to reach you through the window. But not everyone will dare to open the window in twenty-degree frost.
Dampness and repairs
If you have started a renovation and intend to radically solve the problem of dampness in your apartment, it is advisable to use natural materials for it. They tend to absorb excess moisture from the air.
When repairing, it is also necessary to use waterproofing materials. Include antifungal components in your grout.
Think about the future installation of furniture in advance. It should not be placed close to the walls; be sure to leave a gap.
To eliminate the causes of dampness, it is necessary to thoroughly insulate the floor, external and internal insulation walls The walls must be wiped down with a bleach solution and re-plastered.
Living in an apartment with high humidity is uncomfortable and sometimes dangerous. In such rooms, fungus appears on the walls, causing allergic reactions. Such a microclimate leads to health problems. In humid air, joints begin to ache, constant colds torment, insomnia begins, chronic nasal congestion, general weakness and other unpleasant symptoms appear.
Danger of damp air
The optimal humidity in a living room is 45-60%. In winter, when central heating batteries are running, the air in the apartment becomes drier. Both excessively high water vapor content and excessive dryness are equally dangerous for human health.
Most often, drying clothes on radiators and poor ventilation lead to an increase in humidity in the apartment.
If the air is often damp, sooner or later dampness will appear, from which interior items will suffer, furniture and leather upholstery will deteriorate, plaster will crumble, wallpaper will peel off, and the wooden floor will deform. In a damp apartment, books and documents spoil, and food quickly becomes moldy. But the worst consequence of dampness is mold and mildew that appear in the corners of the apartment. These microorganisms can ruin your health and quickly render your home unusable, especially if the walls are made of wood.
In a damp apartment, the general condition of the body worsens. Excessively humid air is the cause of increased oily skin, greasy hair, skin rashes and allergies. People living in damp conditions are prone to pulmonary diseases, they may develop chronic bronchitis and other problems with the respiratory organs. Excessively humid air is heavy and the room smells bad, making it unpleasant to live in. In a damp atmosphere, any bacteria multiply quickly, so residents are susceptible to dangerous infectious diseases, including tuberculosis.
Reasons for dampness in an apartment
Dampness in a room can occur due to internal and external reasons. To determine where moisture penetrates from outside or inside, it is enough to conduct a small experiment. Glass is placed on the wall facing the street for several hours. If a closed area becomes damp, it means that dampness is entering the room from outside. This is especially common in corner apartments or in houses in the construction of which waterproofing standards were violated.
If the part of the wall covered with glass turns out to be dry after a few hours, you need to look for the reasons for the dampness inside the room. It can be:
- on the ground floor in a house with a basement - rising groundwater or man-made flooding of the basement;
- poor ventilation or its absence - this happens when neighbors close the ventilation shaft;
- leaking plumbing, for example, the bathtub does not fit tightly to the wall and while taking a shower, water penetrates the floor, accumulating in puddles under the bathtub;
- drying a large amount of laundry in the apartment, which happens when the family has Small child or bedridden patient;
- passion for house plants - any indoor flower evaporates water from its leaves and affects the microclimate in the apartment.
Sources of internal humidity on the 1st floor or any other, as well as in a private house without a basement, can be:
- frequent showers or baths;
- daily washing;
- cooking food;
- breathing and evaporation of moisture through the skin;
- presence of aquariums in the apartment.
Microclimate correction
It is estimated that as a result economic activity a family of 3 people receives up to 100 liters of water into the air every week. It is not surprising that in apartments with sealed plastic windows and poor ventilation, the microclimate changes so much that the walls begin to become damp, and black mold appears in the corners.
To reduce humidity in an apartment, the first step is to check the operation of ventilation and the tightness of heating and water pipes. If there is something wrong with these systems, you will have to contact specialists. If the ventilation and pipes function flawlessly, you can reduce the humidity in the following ways:
- 1. Ventilate the room regularly - just open the windows wide for at least 10 minutes and the damp air will escape.
- 2. The bathroom door should be left open at night.
Residents of megacities can turn on the air conditioner instead of ventilating. This will help get rid of dampness in the apartment and prevent gas contamination.
An alpine window will help dry the air ( supply valve). The device provides supply fresh air to the apartment even in winter. An alpine window is necessary in a room with poor gas exchange. To install the system, you will have to make a hole in the outer wall. It is closed with heat and soundproofing material. You can regulate the level of fresh air entering the apartment using a damper. Exhaust air leaves the room through natural ventilation. Alpine vents are installed above the windows. The device is not suitable for ventilating bathrooms, kitchens and toilets - these rooms require forced ventilation.
Construction of an alpine window
Alpine window - appearance inside and out
Air conditioner effectively reduces humidity and eliminates the smell of dampness. The device has a drying function. You can simply use it as a hairdryer for indoor air by turning it on to the appropriate mode. But even during normal operation, the air conditioner slightly dries out the room.
A high-quality antiseptic will help remove fungus and mold that appeared on the ceiling and in the upper corners after another flood. Such products are sold in hardware stores.
The room, heavily damaged by fungus, needs repair. Wallpaper is removed from the walls. Sometimes you even have to remove the plaster. All surfaces are treated with an antiseptic and cleaned of fungus and mold. Severely affected areas of the walls can be coated with creosote. After applying the impregnation, the walls and ceiling must be completely dry, only then can they be finished. It is better to use wood and drywall for finishing. These materials absorb water when there is excess air humidity, and release water in a dry atmosphere.
In winter, the room becomes damp due to the cold. To reduce humidity, it is enough to use electric heating devices until they are turned on central heating. They will warm the room and dry the air. Chemical products for dehumidifying apartments are also produced. For example, the Henkel company markets the “Stop Moisture” system, which includes an absorber and an absorbent. Atmospheric moisture is absorbed by the absorber and enters a special container, from where it can simply be poured into the sewer.
