Waterproof Maintenance: When And How?
If you live in a wet region, you will probably have waterproofed your home to a certain extent. The process of waterproofing is basically to render an object resistant to water – waterproof. An oft forgotten fact, however, is that waterproofing is not a one-time process: it needs regular maintenance in order to maintain its efficacy against water. Accordingly, the question is when you should do maintenance, and how it ought to be done.Often, most waterproofing contractors will warn you that a regular maintenance is necessary, but it is usually up to you to remind yourself of the need to do so later on – which is why you ought to understand how and when it should be done. The general rule is that an inspection is necessary every four months or so, that is, three times a year at the very least. However, depending on the condition of your home, you can guess if you need more frequent inspections or not:
Check if there are any discolourations or brown-blackish spots on the ceiling or walls of your home
Check if there is any growth of mould as this last grows in locations that are damp
Check for any cracks in the walls or ceilings
Check for any leaking
And finally, if you notice that your energy or electricity bills have been rising in the past few months without you doing any such thing that warrants them, then this is probably an indication of an increased loss of energy in your home (which in turns results in more frequent heating and accordingly, a higher consumption of electricity).
An inspection for maintenance will often result in the cleaning of your gutters to prevent the accumulation of water, and the removal of any vegetation growth close to your home, or on the roof, as these can contribute to damaging it. The sweeping of the roof, especially if your home is located under large trees, will also be included (as leaves can become potential sources of moisture as they continue to rot).
Whilst most wall and roof waterproofing will often result in such minimal inspections, sometimes (largely depending on the climate and quality of the waterproofing) larger damages can be found upon inspections. Unlike the above-described process, these will then result in substantial repairs which will be costlier – however, such a scenario is often the result your carelessness, as an earlier maintenance could have avoided the problem. Accordingly, the fact that waterproofing can prevent expensive repairs or replacements down the road depends largely on whether you regularly continue to maintain it: if not, you will be needing equally expensive repairs either way.