Dryshield Salt Inhibiting Cream

What is Dryshield Cream?

Dryshield Cream is a salt resistant, breathable and water-repellent cream. It is used as a primer for Drygrip Adhesive and as a salt inhibitor on walls that have just been treated for rising damp with Dryzone Damp-Proofing Cream.

Why Dryshield is Required

When rising damp occurs, the ground water that rises up the wall can often contain salts. Where the ground water evaporates, at the maximum height of the rising damp, it can deposit these salts in crystallised form. The salts are either deposited within the plaster or on the surface of the wall itself, appearing as efflorescence.

The deposited salts are often hygroscopic, meaning they draw moisture from the air. This means that the contaminated areas of the plaster will appear to be damp whereas non-contaminated areas will appear dry, despite the fact that the source of the moisture has been treated and stopped.

What Dryshield Does

Dryshield makes the surface it is applied to hydrophobic and weakens the crystallisation strength of the salts within, or at, the masonry surface. The surface is left breathable, so water vapour can still escape the wall, which allows it to dry out, but salts are not able to build up on the surface and contaminate, or dislodge, any part of the plasterboard.

How Dryshield is Applied

Dryshield Cream is applied by brush or roller and only needs a single coat. It is applied after any damp/contaminated plaster has been hacked off and the wall has been properly treated using Dryzone Damp-Proofing Cream.

The layer of applied Dryshield should be left to penetrate into the wall surface for at least 30 minutes, before any plasterboard or Drygrip Adhesive is applied. The Drygrip and plasterboard must, however, be applied within 24 hours of the Dryshield application.