rising damp
Stains from the skirting, salts, crumbling plaster. How to tell it from condensation and when you need a surveyor.
Updated 2026-09-01 · 8 min read
Rising damp is water climbing by capillarity. It is not “damp air” and it is not a sweating pane. Mixing it up with condensation is the fastest way to buy a useless compressor.
No. It treats air, not water climbing the wall. It may take the fug out of a room; it does not treat the cause.
Height (starts low), season (often all year), salts, material moisture low versus high.
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10–25 €
Without a relative-humidity number, every tip is guesswork. A €10–25 hygrometer is the first useful purchase — before any dehumidifier.
When: Always, as the first diagnostic step.
Not when: It does not replace a moisture meter or a rising-damp survey.
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25–90 €
Helps tell “damp air” from “damp wall”. Absolute readings are rough: compare zones.
When: Suspected rising damp or a leak.
Not when: It is not a professional survey instrument.
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UNI EN ISO 13788
Prestazione igrotermica dei componenti edilizi. Soglia convenzionale di rischio muffa: umidità relativa superficiale 80%.
Accessed 2026-09-01
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