Hi everybody, in this video for Caravan Guard
we're going to be talking about one of the scariest topics in caravan ownership,
and that is damp.
So in today's video, I'm going to be going through what damp actually is,
how it affects our caravans, and also I'm gonna show you
how we can check for damp, show you some gadgetry as well,
and also other things that we should all be mindful of as well.
So let's just dive straight in and start off with what damp actually is.
Well it's really simple: It's water getting into the fabric of our caravans
through some crack, or some inlet, or some way getting into the caravan
that it shouldn't be allowed into.
You see, a caravan is basically a compromise.
It's a compromise between space, living conditions, equipment,
it's also a compromise between lightweight materials, compromised fabric,
design, function, it's a compromise.
and with it being on the absolute edge of design and function,
things sometimes do go wrong.
You see when a caravan is built, a lot of sealant is used to join things together,
and sealants, over time, and adhesives, do fail.
And you only need a very small amount of it to fail for water to get in.
And the capillary action of water basically pushes water through very small holes
and soaks into areas of the caravan.
Now the good news is that damp can be fixed in a caravan.
It's very straightforward: Caravan constructions are very simple,
in actual fact, and so they can be fixed.
Now obviously, the longer you leave it if you know about it
and you don't do anything with it, it will just get worse and worse,
until the point where it's almost uneconomical for it to be repaired.
So how do we check for damp in the caravan?
Well the first thing to do is to have a visual inspection around the outside.
When you clean your caravan, just keep a mindful notice
for any knocks, dings, cracks, or any openings,
or any sealant which is coming away.
Check around the caravan, make sure you're happy that everything is in place.
Now as well as a visual look around the outside,
inside, run your nose around some of the fixtures and the fixings.
Certainly the cushions: Make sure they're not smelling musty or damp at all.
If it does smell musty, don't panic. It could be that there is just condensation
from the caravan being warm on the inside, and cold on the outside,
So the top tip here is to air the caravan out as much as you can
and then check again in a couple of weeks, to see if the mustiness has disappeared.
Now a third check you can also do is to
run your hand around the wallboards inside the caravan
to make sure there's no pimpling and it suddenly doesn't feel wet to the touch.
Make sure that all wallboards are in good condition,
make sure there's no discolouration as well,
and you'll make sure that there's no damp in the caravan.
And finally, if you really want to know how much moisture there is inside your caravan,
you can use something like this. It's a damp meter.
As you can see, it gives a percentage scale of
how much moisture it reads between these two probes.
But what do the moisture levels actually mean?
What does the percentage mean in terms of how damp your caravan is?
Well thankfully there is a scale that we can use
to understand how damp your caravan actually is.
Now if you look at this graph on the side here, you can see
it goes between 0% and 100%.
You can see the majority of it is red,
and so the 0% to 100% scale doesn't really work in this instance.
What we're interested in is the lower numbers, between 0% and 35%.
So let's redraw this graph, and I'll show you exactly what I mean.
Now any readings between 0% and 15% are completely normal.
There is no moisture, and it's completely fine.
Between 15% and 20%, there needs to be further investigation,
so what is recommended is that you re-check in a couple of months.
Between 20% and 24%, there's most definitely something going on here.
So you're gonna need to re-check it, give a visual inspection around the outside,
specifically around the area where there seems to be higher numbers.
Between 25% and 30%, there's most definitely water ingress.
Something is happening in the fabric of the caravan, and unfortunately it means that
you're gonna need to do some work to repair this dampness.
Now anything greater than 31% sadly means the structure of the caravan is wet,
it needs to be sorted, things need to be done inside the caravan
to make sure that the dampness has been resolved.
Now these meters are great, but there is a problem with them.
They're only as good as the day that you test them on.
And what do I mean by that? Well, let's take today as an example.
It's a wet day.
It's raining outside, which means there's a higher moisture level in the environment.
Humidity is quite high because it's quite warm, but it's quite wet,
so there's already quite a lot of moisture in the air around me.
That means when I read, in a minute, around the caravan,
it does mean that I'm gonna get slightly higher readings
than I would do if it was a bone dry day in the middle of summer.
So bear that in mind when you're recording the damp levels inside your caravan.
It needs to be taken in context with the day that you're doing the meter readings,
so when you document down the readings that you're gonna take,
also write down the temperature, which a lot of these meters also have,
so you know how humid and how warm it was.
So, without further ado, let's get on and start measuring around the caravan.
First of all, lets just draw a few diagrams down, so we know to record our results.
So what I've got here is I've got a very simple diagram of our caravan
with the left, the right, the front, the back, and the roof,
and what I've documented is all of the openings,
so things like the window, lockers, etc.
Anything that's been cut into the side of the caravan,
I've documented down here, and I'm going to start recording the results.
Now using the meter couldn't be simpler.
The meter here, you've got two probes across the top,
and you literally just wedge that into the fabric of the caravan,
and it gives you a moisture reading.
Now as you can see here, it's giving me a 2% reading on the page of this book.
Now you don't need to push too hard, to be honest with you,
you just need to do it very gently, until you get a good reading,
and what you want to do is divide each opening up into 4 or 8 areas
around the window, so north, south, east, west, and in between those points.
And then just write down on your little map here of the caravan,
what the readings actually are.
It's important that you put the date and the temperature on the map as well,
that way you can then refer to this when you re-check the figures later on.
So without further ado, let's get on
and start making some measurements around the caravan.
Now once you've done all the openings around the windows and the lockers,
it's also important to check right up where the roof meets the wall.
You want to do this at fairly regular results as well.
(That's a 5%...)
At the moment I haven't seen any reading greater than a 10.
Now the thing is, this is a very inexpensive meter.
It's not gonna be particularly accurate, it certainly isn't going to be anywhere up to
the professional standards that they use down in the service centre.
So why would you spend £100s on a meter and only £10 here?
Well this is only going to be as good as the moisture which it's measuring.
So on a damp day, like today is,
I would've expected these readings to be a lot higher.
The overall message of this video is:
By all means, use a damp meter around the caravan,
but if you are concerned, get it into a dealership
or even ask for a mobile engineer to pop out and inspect your caravan.
They'll be able to tell you first hand
whether they think that there is a ingress problem,
and they'll be able to know, without using one of these,
whether they think there is an issue to be had.
And there we go guys, I hope that's been useful for you today.
If you have any questions or any comments, feel free to add them down below.
I hope this video has been useful for you, and given you inspiration
and the confidence to go and check your own caravan.
If you're in the market for a second hand caravan,
I highly recommend that you purchase one of these meters:
It means that you can quickly nip round
and see if there's any spikes in any readings around the caravan.
But like I said, if you do find it's slightly higher readings than normal...
don't be too alarmed at that. It could be the environment that you're actually in,
or whether it's been raining, or whether it's a cold or warm day.
Environmental factors play a large part in damp readings.
So here's our top 5 tips for reducing the risk of damp in your caravan.
Use your caravan as often as you can.
Keep it well ventilated, especially in colder months.
Limit condensation by not drying wet clothes in your caravan,
and if you have built up condensation after cooking or taking showers,
or in the mornings, open the windows and the skylights to air it out.
Use a clean microfibre cloth to wipe down the walls and windows
if you get buildup of condensation.
Open all the locker doors, and if possible, remove cushions and mattresses
when leaving your caravan for long periods.
Dehumidifier crystals, or even cat litter, can help soak up excessive moisture.
Use moisture traps wherever air doesn't circulate around the caravan.
For more hints and tips, head on over to the Caravan Guard blog,
and that's it from us today. Thanks for watching, bye-bye now.