Taking a shower before inspection?

General Inspection Topics General Inspection Discussion
1

Hi Everyone,

I have been reading this forum for a while and I find it extremely informative and all of you so helpful! This is my first post and question to all of you:

I am looking to buy a new property, and performed an inspection. The inspector claimed that there is high moisture in the shower (behind the tiles next to the tub), BUT the owner took a shower about 30min before we arrived. Can the moisture be attributed to him taking a bath?

Thanks SO much!

Edd

2

Yes, but he may have been alluding to the need for better ventilation to dry out the bathroom(or more accurately, exhaust the humid air) quickly after usage.

3

Thanks, Cameron. In the Inspector’s report, he did not mention any problems with the fan.
How long does it take after someone takes a shower to take an accurate measurement for moisture behind the wall-tiles? Does it depend on whether the inspector uses the infrared camera or the beeping moisture detector?

4

Did the inspector use an infrared camera, a moisture meter, or a combination of both to determine his assessment?

A simple answer to your question is yes, moisture reading can be attributed to him taking a bath.

5

As stated it can be as a result of the previous shower usage but it will depend on where the moisture is showing up and what tools were used to detect it are there any thermal images that you can post

6

The inspector used a moisture meter. It was beeping at certain areas behind the tiles. However, the tiles were wet when we got there, and I am not sure that wiping them 30minutes before the read would completely dry them…or would it?

7

well it can be due to previous usage of shower however it has to be examined which are the places of moisture and if possible try to check for how long this problem has persisted.

8

I would think that use of the shower would affect the moisture meter readings, absoultly.

Your inspector may have been very cautious in his reporting the moisture. He might have thought its better to be wrong about too much moisture than not reporting anything.

hope this helps
Cheers

9

If the shower is an older one, with wire mesh fabric to hold the mortar, the metal sets off moisture meters. FYI.