Wet walls due to dodgy roof - help!!!!

[Dream1990]

We recently had water damage to our walls on the staircase and bedroom due to our roof having multiple holes and being in complete disarray…..

the problem seems to be fixed now and no further water coming in. Issue is the water stains are still as stubborn as ever.

Weve tried using a dehumidifier and fan. Really clears things up whilst they are on but as soon as we turn them off, the moisture comes back in the same places.

Any ideas of what we could try? We want to dry the walls out as quickly as possible so we can repaint.

So long as the roof problem is fixed its a matter of time.
Each time you use the dehumidifier it pulls the water from the surface but there is still a saturated wall behind that will take a lot longer to dry and keep leaching through wherever it can

If you poke around on the internet there is a calculations to do with the thickness of well and how many months it will take to dry out.

Keep the dehumidifier running.
If it continues to fill up the reservoir keep emptying, and keep it running.
Took WEEKS to see a drop in the amount of water collected when we had to have big, industrial, dehumidifiers running due to the flat above

Just put stain block over and paint as normal if they're dry

If I paint over when it’s still wet what will happen?

Thanks - water keeps collecting but not a noticeable difference in the wall. Did you also use a fan?

When our cellar flooded we had a massive fan and a dehumidifier to dry it out. Took a couple of weeks of being on constantly iirc.

You can't paint a wet wall. You can use a stain blocker once it's dry.

You could get a moisture meter and check the moisture level. How long have you been running the dehumidifier and how powerful a unit is it?

We have a standard one from Argos but wondering if we should get another one… fan is just a cheap one. If you have any recommendations for what you used please let me know happy to get some new kit

Hire a dehumidifier.
A BIG one.

Not a recommendation, but something like this:
https://www.nationaltoolhireshops.co.uk/product/55l-240v-dehumidifier-hire/?gad=1&gclid=CjwKCAjws9ipBhB1EiwAccEi1KKp4-yYX4NJTGdm0ncU-o5mHJ_OnFsEPIS_Q5xCektOqYeABu5QlBoC8PcQAvD_BwE

Do not paint until the wall is dry.

Oh, and the bigger the litres stated, the more water it can pull in 24 hours.
So, a 20l one from Argos can collect max 20 litres a day. A 55l one cam collect nearly 3 times that amount.
It's not the reservoir size.

Thanks so much!! What kind of fan did you get?

No point in using stain block until the wall is dry, it won't stop damp coming through.

Our roof leaked then caused damp then mould

I bought a 12L Meaco dehumidifier which sucks up water like you wouldn't believe. It's pretty amazing

I also now use it for drying washing and that's dry by the morning which is great.

If you blow a fan towards the washing that helps speed up the drying process

It'll peel off

You'll have to wait till next summer I reckon

I have this one

It sold out the year i needed it but I managed to get one in Curry's