What Rising Damp Looks Like & How to Identify It

Is Rising Damp affecting your home?

If you think you may have rising damp in your home, then the following images and supported text might clear up the uncertainty and help you identify the issue. Keep scrolling down to learn more…

Decayed skirting boards & timber floors

Decayed and rotting timbers could be signs of a rising damp in your property. Skirting boards that crumble easily, are cracked or show fungus growing are all clear signs to look out for.

Rising damp on internal wall cornor - Property Care Association

Crumbling or salt stained plaster

Crumbling or salt stained plaster, discolouration and staining are tell-tale signs of rising damp.

Rising damp - salt stained plaster - Property Care Association

Discolouration and staining

Other common signs are damp patches or staining on the wall. These stains are yellowish or brownish in colour and rise up to about 1 metre above the skirting board.

Rising damp on internal wall - Property Care Association

Peeling paint and wallpaper

If you spot wallpaper coming away from/ peeling off the wall, then this could be another sign of rising damp.

PCA Rising Damp - Wallpaper Peeling

Contaminating Salts

Water rising from the ground often introduces contaminating salts into the walls and plaster coats.

This contamination will often result in a need for the plaster to be removed and replaced using specially formulated salt resistant plasters.

PCA Rising Damp - Contaminating Salts

Do some of the rising damp images look like your damp issue?

If after looking at the images, you recognise the same issues in your property, then our advice is to take action. The sooner you start taking steps towards resolving the issue, the better the outcome. There is less chance for the problem to worsen and you will reduce the potential costs involved in rectifying the damp issue.

The simplest and most reliable way to deal with the problem is to contact an experienced and qualified specialist who can advise you on the best course of action.

Rising damp explained

See for yourself how rising damp affects your bricks and masonry within this explainer video

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Treat rising damp

Learn more about how to treat a rising damp problem

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Rising damp homepage

Learn more about rising damp. Go back to the main page

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Find a local PCA damp specialist

If you are looking to find a specialist to investigate a potential rising damp issue, then you can use the search tool below to find local & qualified damp specialists near you. Simply put in your postcode and run a search.