While salt may be useful for preserving food, it does the opposite for your home. As one of the Horsemen of Home Health Apocalypse, salt damage can ruin the exterior of your home in the blink of an eye.
While the ocean breeze makes Central Coast living beautiful, the salt that it brings with it can cause serious damage to the exterior of your home. Unless you enjoy peeling paint and weakened wood, knowing when to spot salt damage is crucial for proper home maintenance.
The paint on your home is like sunscreen – it protects the wood and other substrates underneath it from the elements. When enough salt builds up on the paint in your home, it compromises its ability to withstand the elements.
While some salt won’t be the end for your home’s paint, years of continuous exposure only quickens the deterioration of your home’s protective layer. Salt damaged paint can be spotted by discolored sections or peeling areas of paint on exterior surfaces in your home, essentially like a bad sunburn for your home. If you recognize the signs of salt damage, consider contacting one of our Home Health Advisors to assess the level of damage.
Your house is not a boat, and even the strongest of woods cannot withstand the continuous exposure to salt water in the air. Wood that has salt damage has difficulty keeping on a protective coating, making it susceptible to paint damage.
Salt’s chemical composition makes the effects of water damage on wood worse, and because salt travels with moisture, these two make a dangerous combo for any home. Salt and water damaged wood is weaker than normal wood, so spotting it before it gets out of hand is crucial to maintaining good home health.
Salt damaged wood is also discolored, and can be spotted with loose wood fibers. When you believe that you have a serious case of salt damage, consider contacting professional support.
Spotting salt damage can be difficult without the proper training and tools, so having a professional repair and assessment is your best option for the best results. At Rogall + Co., we expertly assess the damage that salt has created, and our trained professionals beautifully repair the damage.
Salt damage may seem like a minor inconvenience, but without proper care it can quickly become a huge problem for any coastal home. Don’t ignore the signs of an A-SALT (assault) on your home!
