Dry Rot vs Wet Rot

It’s a question that gets frequently asked by clients whenever they discover an unwanted fungal issue in their building. Although, Dry Rot and Wet Rot are the two of the most common forms of decay consultants come across, there is still confusion surrounding the differences between the two and what they mean for a buildings health. Read on to find out the difference between Dry Rot and Wet Rot. 
 
Wet Rot:
 
This form of decay is just how it sounds, wet. Unlike Dry Rot, Wet Rot requires a lot higher moisture content and usually occurs in places of a house that can be susceptible to water leakage. If this rot is left untreated, it can result in serious structural damage to the building as it causes the timber to become soft, spongey, dried up and decayed. While Wet Rot does tend to occur more than Dry Rot, it is less serious. In order to identify this issue within your property, you have to look out for black fungus growing on timber, soft and spongey timber and cracks or crumbling of the walls.
 
Dry Rot:
 
Dry Rot is the sneakier fungus of the two, although it doesn’t occur as often as Wet Rot , when it does, it likes to hide in places where property owners are unlikely to look, such as attics and under floors. These areas have poor ventilation and therefore leave room for moisture and in turn, fungus. In order to stop this fungus in its tracks you have to look for signs such as , a damp or musty odour, shrinkage and discolouring of wood, cracking of wood, rust red coloured spore dust and a white, fluffy cotton wool growths.
 
If any of these signs of Dry Rot or Wet Rot sound like something your building is experiencing you may require our help. Simply shoot us an email at [email protected] so we can assess your building and work to get it back in its tip top shape!

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