Damp behind built in wardrobes

[footymum]

Today we've taken out some fitted wardrobes which must be at least 20 years old...behind the wardrobes the wall has been subjected to damp in the past (the house has a full DPC so it's definitely not recent damp)..the walls look dirty and grey in a few areas but they are dry and the plaster is fine..I'm sure that I've heard of a product that you can paint on which basically kills any damp still in the wall and creates a barrier for wallpaper to be hung..any suggestions gratefully received...footymum

[RATTER15]

dont paint anything on your walls to cure damp, it will just hide it!!

You get damp behind wardrobes especially if it is against an outside wall because of condensation. If you wardrobe has now been removed and the wall is dry, just clean the wall and decorate as usual.

Rising damp will not rise more than 1 meter, so if it is an upstairs bedroom it wont be rising damp!! the other possible causes are poor paintwork on exterior of that wall allowing rain to penetrate or maybe a leaking roof allowing the ingress of moisture down through the wall!!

[RATTER15]

Painting the outside walls may cure damp depending where the damp is coming from, painting the interior walls will not cure damp it will just hide it, allowing it to eat away at your walls without your knowledge!!

Sorry, I thought I better clear that up!!

[footymum]

Thank you..really appreciate your help..thinking back,there used to be a very leaky gutter above this bedroom window,but all the guttering was replaced and the leak stopped...this was very possibly the culprit!! ... many thanks ...footymum