If you notice any dampness on any part of a house either where you live or in your office where you work, ensure you give it the requisite attention by ensuring such dampness is eliminated.
Elimination should be done methodically by either tracing its source yourself or get a Professional to trace its source.
Dampness in living or working spaces has two major effects-
1. On the health of the inhabitants –
Excessive dampness causes growth of Mold and Mildew- and you do not really want these stuffs inside with you for too long (you can speak to a Medical Doctor or check here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mildew for more details about this). Summarily, they are known to exacerbate asthmatic, respiratory and allergy conditions in a section of the population. https://www.cdc.gov/mold/dampness_facts.htm
2. On the structure/ building-
As regards this, let us remind ourselves of some fun knowledge which we all know-
WATER, is said knows no enemy.
WATER, is also said to be life.
Up to 60% of the human adult body is water.
From Science, we are taught WATER is a universal solvent.
What this implies is that, WATER dissolves almost everything both naturally occurring and man-made, if not totally, then to a certain extent.
The chemical formula of water explains the reason for this thoroughly unique feature of water- we would not be delving into that now.
Water that is left to soak up (either by capillary action, under gravity or under pressure) parts of a building or structure, slowly but surely dissolves away the building materials which the structure is built from.
The easiest matter for water to leach (dissolve) away is the binder (cement) in our predominantly cement-based construction in Nigeria. The cement in the mortar (plaster), in the block bedding, in the concrete are all gradually lost and once the binder leaves, it is a matter of time before the other guys (sand and stone, etc) are left to run free and your building starts to deteriorate rapidly.
Where Steel is used in any form in the structure, Corrosion (commonly know as Rusting) also sets in. Once Steel exposed or embedded in concrete starts its journey down the path of its return to its original mineral ore form which corrosion births, this is a rapid descent down a very steep hill that is very hard to put a brake to. The relationship between corrosion and spalling in deterioration of concrete would be addressed in another article.((
So, that consistent and unabating dampness on your internal and external walls, that on your ceiling, that on your floor… Do not overlook it. Your building was built with hard-earned money, don’t allow WATER to wash away your sweat! Get a qualified Professional to assess your building dampness asap!
As is applicable in most matters, Prevention is better than Cure.
