Damp type checker
Condensation, penetrating damp, rising damp or a leak? Seven questions, a plain answer, and who to call first.
Quick answer
Answer seven short questions — where the damp is, whether there is a tide mark, when it is worst, how much mould, salts, nearby water and the age of the home — and the checker tells you the most likely type: condensation, penetrating damp, rising damp or a leak. It says plainly when the signs are mixed. It runs in your browser and stores nothing, and only a survey confirms the cause.
Your result
Answer at least 4 questions (you’ve answered 0) and your result appears here.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How can I tell condensation from rising damp?
- Condensation forms on cold surfaces, is worse in cold weather, and shows as black spot mould in corners and around windows with no tide mark. Rising damp leaves a tide mark low on a ground-floor wall, usually no higher than about a metre, often with salt deposits and blown plaster. The checker scores exactly these signs.Condensation or rising damp? The full guide →
- Is the result a diagnosis?
- No. It is a pointer based on what you tell it, designed to tell you the right kind of help to ask for first. When the answers don’t separate the types it says the signs are mixed rather than guessing. Only an on-site survey, with moisture readings, confirms the cause.
- Why doesn’t it show a percentage?
- A seven-question quiz can’t honestly support one. It gives a plain-English strength instead — the signs point clearly, lean, or are mixed — and shows the reasons behind its answer so you can check them against what you can see.
- Is rising damp really that rare?
- Genuine rising damp from a failed damp-proof course is far rarer than it is diagnosed: many call-outs for it turn out to be condensation, penetrating damp or a plumbing leak. That is why the checker asks about tide marks, salts and timing, and why an independent survey comes before any treatment.
- Is anything I enter stored or sent?
- No. Your answers stay in your browser and are gone when you close the page. We only count that the tool was used, with no answers.
This checker is guidance, not a survey or advice on your property. For a landlord’s duties see the Awaab’s Law guide; for causes and fixes see condensation control.