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Freedom from Dampness

Building a home is one major dream that everyone chases. I must say that this is a universal wish that from a common man to a multi billionaire everyone makes. Once you get the house of your dreams after going through some troubles and overwhelming emotions, it’s time to enjoy your life peacefully in it. But as it goes for life, there are lot of troubles that one goes through but has an easy fix. One of the major trouble faced by us is the leakage problem. The effect of this is felt in greater magnitude during the winter season.

Before we realize how it happened and find a fix to this, it sometimes worsens to a level that is unbearable for us. Water leakage or dampness not only destabilizes the interior structure of the building but also results in the damage of interiors including furniture and others leading to reduced valuation of the structure.

Dampness can cause fungus formation on the wall. It makes your wall look awkward with the greenish look in color. It also leads to the growth of unwanted mushrooms. The dampness has adverse effects on health of people residing in that surrounding. Sinus, skin and respiratory infections, yeast infections, headaches, aching joints, asthma, fatigue, loss of libido, depression and anxiety are some of the problems that may result due to this. Along with our health, many of our belongings, our keepsakes that were sacred to us, have been or will need to be destroyed.

They may also cause bad odor and certain species of black molds produce mycotoxin which may have severe impact on the human system. The dampness may also cause irritation in the nose, eyes and throat, sinus indication and other respiratory ailments like bronchitis.

Hidden mold which can grow in bathrooms, ceiling corners, damp patches on walls, ceiling tiles, kitchen cabinets with leakage around it, wallpaper with a water leak on the wall behind,  produces allergens and irritants. Inhaling or touching it may therefore cause allergic reaction, such as sneezing, runny nose, asthma attacks, red eyes and rashes. As you may not monitor the kids at home all the time, the presence of mould should be eradicated as soon as you spot it.

Causes of Termites and Algae:

The occurrence of termites and algae are the indicating factors of the presence of cracks and dampness. Ensure that you seal the cracks where you spot the termites at the earliest to prevent them multiplying in numbers. While spraying insecticides may give you a temporary relief of killing them, it will not be the permanent solution. Sealing the cracks is the permanent solution.

Cracks on the exterior walls are even more dangerous. As they are beyond our reach to be taken care of on regular intervals, it may lead to growth of unwanted plants which may worsen the crack further.

One must also ensure there are no gaps in between the window frames as it may bring in lot of uninvited trouble - water leakage from rains and mosquitoes. Ensure they are sealed and intact.

Water pipes are also one of the places you need to look out for leakages. The leakage will happen when the iron pipe gets rusted or through the joints. It would be good if you use PVC pipes of high grade especially when your underground water is salty. This will last longer when compared to iron pipes. Also fix the leakage as soon as you spot it otherwise it may leak from inside the walls and may cause greater damage to the walls and when it leaks through the tiles, it may worsen the looks as it seeps out with rusty particles.



Precautionary measures:

We often tend to curate this trouble by wiping with the cloth which is not the permanent solution. This can be handled effectively in the following ways:

1. Do not keep wet clothes to be dried inside the house as it could cause mould to multiply and strengthen them. There should not be any dampness inside the house. Keep it as dry as you can.

2. You may use air conditioners to keep the humidity level low.

3. Having enough ventilation inside the house and keeping the windows open during the sunny season can effectively control the growth of the mould.

4. Ensure you do a thorough check on the terrace to make sure that there is no water clogging after the rains and the ducts are free from any blockade to allow the water to flow through the drain freely.

5. Do not keep carpets on the dampened room as it may spread the moisture causing the mould to grow multifold.


Reasons for Water Seepage through external walls:

There are many reasons that attributes to this. Some of the main reasons includes:

1) Joints and Cracks in the walls including hairline cracks.
2) Poor construction.
3) Dampness due to capillary action.
4) Honeycomb structures in concrete or plaster and
5) Separation gaps to name among the few.

The above can be effectively addressed by using waterproofing systems and materials like Polymer modified mortars/pastes and sealants, Flaring mortars, External wall coating, Injection system with silicone materials, Impregnation system, Crystalline system to name a few. There are many companies that provide such waterproofing solutions. Dr. Fixit is one such which has a wide range of waterproofing solutions to cater to various needs.

How did it affect me?

When we built the second floor on our old property, the engineer did not pack the walls of the exterior properly and because of that, the wall started to leak during the rainy season and what ever we did on the wall like painting and decoration got spoilt because of that.

I also had witnessed another trouble when my overhead tank started to leak on its exterior. It was a new tank and the builder had charged a bomb to construct it but due to his negligence, the walls which were not packed properly started to leak.

It is a real horrifying and sad sight to witness your building leak as it not only brings tears to your eyes but it also starts leads to deterioration of your health due to dampness and other health issues that is being caused because of this. That damp smell is another horrifying one which cannot be explained. These also led to the occurrence of termites and cockroaches and it was a nightmare for me until I set it right.


How did I address these issues?

Dr.Fixit is the answer.

All I did was to call up the experts who arrived in no time. They analyzed my property with minute detail and gave me the solutions to get the troubles fixed. I did as they advised, without any second thought and my woes disappeared like snow flakes. I would also be giving more information on what are the other common issues faced by us and how to effectively address it.


Bathroom Waterproofing:

Some of the common defects in the bathroom & toilets include Crack in tiles, Rust staining, Tile debonding, Seepage through structural joint, Leakage through porous concrete, Leakage through floor traps etc and these can be effectively controlled by undertaking various measures.

Image Credit: Google



Waterproofing the roofs:

Roof is an integral part of any building and hence due and diligent care must be taken to maintain it. We usually do the concrete roof slab covered with Brickbat coba (BBC), Mud phuska, China mosaic, tiles or screed to provide a slope to drain rain water but over a period of time, cracks may develop leading the water to penetrate during the rainy season which may result in something similar to the photo below:



Other Products:

1) Dr. Fixit Roofseal Flex - is a two component product, consisting of a powder component and polymer. The resultant of the mix of these two is applied on new roofs and it forms a seamless, highly elastic, non-toxic waterproofing layer on the roof with a life expectancy of 7 years.

2) Dr. Fixit Torchshield - is an APP based polyester reinforced membrane, which is an easy-to-lay, torch-on membrane with a system life expectancy of more than 5 years.

3) Dr. Fixit Newcoat Coool - which will not only act as waterproof coat for the roofs but also reduce the building surface temperature by 8 degrees Celsius.

4) Dr. Fixit Bathseal Kit - must be used which is a combination of products like Pidicrete URP, tape, mesh, grout and WPC.

5) Dr. Fixit Newcoat Ezee - an elastomeric waterproofing coating that provides a seamless and tough waterproof barrier with excellent crack bridging ability that can accommodate movements due to thermal variations.




Outer Coating of Walls:

Outer coating of walls are always the best option. Gone are the days when we were not aware of the technology that could make things better and enhance the life of the building. By giving a waterproof coating outside, you can prevent the occurrence of Algae and Fungus. There are unique waterproofing options like Dr. Fixit Raincoat – a high performance acrylic elastomeric coating for external walls - and Dr. Fixit Newcoat Ezee which can bear heat, humidity and rainfall and form a layer around the construction of external walls as well as terraces.

Image Credit: Google


Dr. Fixit Raincoat is an elastomeric exterior waterproofing coating that can be applied on all types of exterior masonry surfaces, cement and renderings as well as on asbestos sheets. This serves a dual purpose of addressing Waterproofing & Crack Bridging making it a perfect long term investment.

What makes Dr. Fixit Raincoat even more amazing is that it offers 700 shades of colors to choose from. Now what more do we need?? Time to beautify our house isn't it? And not just that but Mr. Bachchan, himself advises for that. Watch in the video below:



Henceforth, if you need any guidance, tips on renovating or building a healthy home do check out The Happy Homes Blog.

Happy Reading! :-)


1 comments:

I am well acquainted with Waterproofing-Johannesburg professionals, so I rely on them to waterproof my buildings with perfectness.


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