DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

moved into our new house in november. i want to sand our floorboards in the hallway but i seem to have a problem with a wet patch that has appeared.

we have an understairs cupboard. skirting runs along the hall side at the foot. this skirting and one or two floorboards running parallel have developed a damp patch. its not the first time i've noticed it - it happened recently during a period of heavy rain and now its happened again after another spate of rain - so logic dictates that the two are related, however....


we have a suspended floor sitting on joists. the cupboard is dry and there are no water pipes anywhere near the problem. ive lifted the floorboards for a look and there is a 2 foot void under the joists. i thought the water could be getting in from outside and running along the joist but the joist is bone dry as they all are. the water is not coming from above i know this.

so where on earth is it coming from? i thought it might have been brought in on people's shoes after the rain but its getting bigger of its own accord!

any suggestions as to what this could be? a friend suggested wet rot and to treat it but i thought that wet rot was a type of mould...

Just a thought...

Could be an area of hygroscopic salt contamination (most likely Common Salt) which becomes damp at times of high humidity, i.e. when it is raining. Try washing the area thoroughly and see if that cures the problem.