Dealing with dampness on your walls during the monsoons

New Delhi: Many people believe that dampness on walls is due to a faulty wall, flooring or ceiling work in our neighbours home. However, even a poorly tiled bathroom can cause damp patches on the outer walls, making your bedrooms and passages look bad.

Parikshat Hemrajani, co-founder of Hipcouch, an interior design company says: "Dampness results in peeling paint, mould, fungus, leakage and making the home look sticky. If ignored, dampness could do serious damage to the walls and structure of the house, so it's advisable to act quickly as soon as one notices any dampness on the walls."

Hemrajani further shares what can be done to take care of dampness on walls during monsoons:

Look out for cracked walls

Cracks in walls can appear due to climatic changes and can damage the structure of your home. They typically start near the window frames and doors, allowing moisture to seep into the structure, causing dampness. Good quality putty should be used to fill in such cracks. Once such gaps and cracks are filled, walls are repainted. Ideally this process should be done before the monsoon season as it gives your walls plenty of time to dry.

Air ventilation

Too much moisture in a room can be because of the lack of required air ventilation. Ensure there is enough fresh air passing in and out of the rooms. This will keep the humidity levels in check and dampness at bay. Dampness is also caused due to the trapped steam within the house. Most of the steam generates in the kitchen or bathrooms due to warm water. So, install exhaust fans that will ensure proper air ventilation. If you have windows in all rooms, keep them open for atleast sometime during the day to let the air flow freely.

Use waterproofing coat

Waterproofing coat is a material applied to the interiors as well as exteriors - walls, ceilings and flooring before the paint, plaster or tiling work is done. This acts as a barrier for the water seeping in and also slows down the spread of moisture, thus preventing dampness. Also, water seepage usually occurs between joints of two different types of materials such as tiles and the plastered surface. At times, there can be gaps between the tiles and slowly the moisture starts to accumulate in between causing seepage. Such areas should be fortified using waterproofing compounds. Again, it's more of a preventive measure which should be typically done while renovating or getting your interiors done. Also, ensure you get it done before the monsoons, as these sealants can take a good amount of time to dry off completely.

Fixing walls adjacent to the bathrooms

The other aspect is to ensure you have water proofed the flooring and the internal walls of the bathrooms. This will stop the seepage from getting out or below to cause a problem to your neighbours living on the floor below yours.

Opting for tiles and water repellent paint

Whenever you opt for getting your walls painted opt for specialised paints that are modified with silicon and have high water repellency. Also, getting such walls tiles is a good option.