Damp floor, am i worrying over nothing?

[MikeAce]

Hi all, recently as part of my pre season maintenance i ran the damp tester over the van, the walls were all bone dry but when i stuck the prongs into the bathroom floor there was a small damp reading in an area about 12" in diameter.

The strange thing is that its in the middle of the floor of the bathroom, in the doorway, all flooring as you work your way to the outside of the van is bone dry, even the affected area underneath is not showing any readings.

I took the ceiling vent out and tested the timber, dry, i resealed the shower and waste incase and there are no readings around the sink or wc. weird.

The only thing i can think of is that my wife washes our baby on this spot but he is on a mat so spillage is small, we also hang our towels above it after showering but we hadnt used the van in a couple of months so would this not have dried out over 2 months?

I suspect i am worrying over nothing but what do you all think?

 

[MikeAce]

In addition the readings are lower than that proiduced by the natural moisture in my hand,about half the level in fact, to give you all an idea of levels.

 

[Damian]

Mike, first of all, what make of tester were you using?

Secondly, with the industry used meter, a hand reading will be 90% or more.

Lastly what tables did you use to interpret the reading you got.

 

[MikeAce]

Hi Damien, it was not a protimeter or anything decent, just an audible tone meter with 2 prongs from screw fix.

No tables, just the sound of the tone.

like i said though, the strange thing is i cant get any readings fron underneath.

 

[Damian]

Mike I respectfully suggest that you have wasted whatever you paid for the meter.

As for not getting any reading from underneath, I am not surprised, as there is about 4 inches of foam between the plywood outer and inner floors.

A single higher reading in a damp check should be viewed in relation to the rest of the readings and location of the high reading.

To have damp in the center of the floor is unusual, but given your explanation is a good reason as to why it should be.

Without a % reading it is impossible to determine what problem there is, if any, and without the relevant tables, impossible to determine if there is a problem at all.

Comparing a reading to that taken on a hand, in salt laden moisture, is like taking comparative readings between chalk and cheese.

I would guess that you actually have nothing to be worried about, but you could recheck the area in another 3 months, as long as you do not drop any more water on it.

 

[MikeAce]

Thanks for the advice Damian, i knoe you are right about the damp tester, thankfully its just a cheap one i use for work, I realise of course that its accuracy is vague at best, i simply tend to use it as either there is moisture present or there isnt, its not much good for giving an accurate figure.

You have given me some peace of mind about the floor though, i even wondered if there was something covering the floor between the wood and the carpet that was a conductor, i cannot however pull the carpets back to test this theory as with most vans the carpet is laid before the furniture.

I will monitor it as suggested, my pride and joy will get all the love and attention it deserves.

Thanks for the advice.