# Salt-damp on interior walls



## Alcalaina

Does anyone have any experience of dealing with salt damp on their walls? This is where the minerals in the building materials bubble through the plaster during the winter, forming little furry blisters in the paint.

I think basically there are three options:


Just live with it, cleaning and painting the affected areas at the end of the winter;
Remove the outer layer of bricks and plaster and put in a damp proof membrane;
Tile over the whole lot and forget about it.

Has anyone tried either of the last two, and did it work? Anyone got any better ideas?


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## 90199

Alcalaina said:


> Does anyone have any experience of dealing with salt damp on their walls? This is where the minerals in the building materials bubble through the plaster during the winter, forming little furry blisters in the paint.
> 
> I think basically there are three options:
> 
> 
> Just live with it, cleaning and painting the affected areas at the end of the winter;
> Remove the outer layer of bricks and plaster and put in a damp proof membrane;
> Tile over the whole lot and forget about it.
> 
> Has anyone tried either of the last two, and did it work? Anyone got any better ideas?


Are the outer walls painted? If so repaint first with Compactuna one or two coats, then mix Compactuna with the next two coats of paint. That should seal the outer walls for a few years or so,

Hepa


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## Alcalaina

Hepa said:


> Are the outer walls painted? If so repaint first with Compactuna one or two coats, then mix Compactuna with the next two coats of paint. That should seal the outer walls for a few years or so,
> 
> Hepa


The outer wall is somebody else's inside wall unfortunately - I think it's an empty property. Round here all the houses are built higgledy-piggledy on top of and joined into each other. The walls are two or three feet thick, but full of clay and rubble.

Not our house, I'm glad to say, but I'm looking after it for someone.


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## owdoggy

Alcalaina said:


> Does anyone have any experience of dealing with salt damp on their walls? This is where the minerals in the building materials bubble through the plaster during the winter, forming little furry blisters in the paint.
> 
> I think basically there are three options:
> 
> 
> Just live with it, cleaning and painting the affected areas at the end of the winter;
> Remove the outer layer of bricks and plaster and put in a damp proof membrane;
> Tile over the whole lot and forget about it.
> 
> Has anyone tried either of the last two, and did it work? Anyone got any better ideas?


I reckon it's got nowt to do with salt & more to do with good old fashioned water. We had exactly the same in our living room last year. We traced the problem to the roof terrace (above the living room) where there were a few cracks. A liberal coat of plastic based floor paint on the roof terrace & bobs yer uncle....... no more furry damp bits.

Take a look at the outside to see where water may be getting in and it doesn't have to be that near either.......funny stuff water when mixed with Spanish builds


Doggy


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## Alcalaina

It is definitely salt (you can taste it!), there are two floors above it and they are fine. Here's a picture.


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## owdoggy

Alcalaina said:


> It is definitely salt (you can taste it!), there are two floors above it and they are fine. Here's a picture.


 Aye, salt or not (I must admit I didn't taste ours) water is getting in somewhere.......... the trick is to find out where



Doggy


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## gus-lopez

The main problem in spain is that they don't use 'washed' sand in their cement mixes. You also get the problem with plaster as well.This allows the salts in them to remain & contributes to the formation of efflorescence. ( that's what it's called.) Any moisture in the walls will allow it to leach out for years + if water is able to penetrate or be drawn up fromthe soli theproblem can contiue 'in perpetuity'. 

Of your 3 options ; * Just live with it, cleaning and painting the affected areas at the end of the winter; 
I've had to do this with a bedroom that is attached to an external cement staircase & terrace ,where the wall ,1m thick, is attached to the stairs which are over 1m wide & water from somewhere on the terrace / stairs is penatrating & eventually migrates into areas of the bedroom wall. It's only occasionally & similar to your photo.

* Remove the outer layer of bricks and plaster and put in a damp proof membrane;
Personally consider this a waste of time. The likelihood of curing the problem against the amount of work involved would end up driving you mad; especially when it returns a couple of years later !

* Tile over the whole lot and forget about it.
I've also done this on another room that is attached soley to the same terrace ( which has an empty damp void completely enclosed,underneath it & it works very well. No problems at all for at least 6 years. 
The main problem with it occuring is normally in the damp winter months & if the attached property is empty then lack of air circulation will allow the moisture to be absorbed by the walls.


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## Pesky Wesky

Alcalaina said:


> Does anyone have any experience of dealing with salt damp on their walls? This is where the minerals in the building materials bubble through the plaster during the winter, forming little furry blisters in the paint.
> 
> I think basically there are three options:
> 
> 
> Just live with it, cleaning and painting the affected areas at the end of the winter;
> Remove the outer layer of bricks and plaster and put in a damp proof membrane;
> Tile over the whole lot and forget about it.
> 
> Has anyone tried either of the last two, and did it work? Anyone got any better ideas?


The thing is...
Walls have to breathe and if they can't, they get "ill", or the people that live in them may, so sealing them up is not always the best way.
With the risk of people saying "Here she goes again" here's a link to Livos which manufacture high quality ecological goods. 
LIVOS Pinturas Naturales y ecologicas
We have used their products to varnish, paint furniture, inside walls and outside with great results. It's more expensive, but I think we're worth it 
Send them the picture and they can advise you what to do. In fact, you could do they came with Leroy Merlin or what ever you've got near you if you don't want to use the Livos stuff


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## Pesky Wesky

Pesky Wesky said:


> Send them the picture and they can advise you what to do. In fact, you could do they came with Leroy Merlin or what ever you've got near you if you don't want to use the Livos stuff


do they came????????????

Sorry, sorry, sorry!

could do the same


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## mrypg9

Not sure if the problem has the same source but in the UK we had an eighteenth century cottage with walls equally thick and experienced the same problem as there was no damp course and the builderwho renovated had used inferior materials.
We tried everything including Doulton plugs and having the damp plaster removed and done again with 'special' plaster.
In the end we did something probably quite unscientific but it worked. We cpasted ordinary kitchen foil on the affected areas then papered with that 'invisible' paper so the walls looked unpapered when painted over.
Not sure if it solved the longterm problem but it worked well enough for us to be able to sell the property without any awkwardness from the surveyor's report.


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## 90199

Looking at the photograph we had the same condition on a new apartment on the coast. It is caused by damp, the building had settled and a crack had formed on the outer walls, letting water penetrate into the wall. The builders cut out a larger crevice where the crack had formed filled it with a substance called Sikaflex.

We had torrential rains at the weekend and thankfully no sign of any damp patches,

Hepa


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## Alcalaina

Thank you everyone for your suggestions, very helpful! I'll pass them on to the owners of the property.


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