When black fog covers your walls
28.12.2018
Translation: machine translated
Fogging is the name of the phenomenon that leaves an unsightly black film on your white walls. Sounds bad, but it can be prevented.
Black stains above radiators, dark shadows in the corners of the room, grey haze on the curtains: If a black film forms overnight and spoils your beautiful home, then you are most likely dealing with fogging. The effect is particularly noticeable now, during the heating phase. At first glance, the stains also look as if someone has left the fire smouldering a little too long. However, at second glance, or rather by touch, the greasy, soot-like consistency becomes apparent.
Watch out during renovations
It is striking that fogging occurs almost exclusively in new buildings and newly renovated flats. Highly volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) such as plasticisers in paints and varnishes, floor adhesives and plastics are released into the indoor air slowly but over a long period of time. The improved insulation in our homes and less frequent ventilation in winter can cause SVOC concentrations to soar. These trapped SVOCs can combine with dust particles in the air and then settle on the walls.
Laborious cleaning
This looks a bit grubby, but what's even more annoying is that simply painting over it doesn't help. The spots have to be cleaned, which is not that easy. The greasy film has to be dissolved with washing-up liquid and water. In stubborn cases, plastic cleaner will help. The area can then be painted over. If you have wallpaper on the walls, this would almost certainly be affected. It therefore makes more sense to tear down the wall panelling straight away and re-wallpaper. Sounds time-consuming and it is. So try to prevent the effect by eliminating misbehaviour.
Don't let it get that far
When renovating, use (largely) solvent-free and plasticiser-free paints, varnishes and glues. In addition, you should ventilate extensively during and after the renovation, but also in winter, so that the gases can escape through the open window. Periodic heating, i.e. heating up the room and then switching the radiators down again, leads to an intensive air flow in the room, which causes the SVOC dust particles to settle faster and more strongly on the walls. It is better to heat continuously. So leave your heating on even when you're away. Strongly sooting candles or scented candles can also be to blame for black flats, so avoid them.
If none of this helps, you will have to resort to harsher measures. Structural defects such as thermal bridges may need to be corrected. At these points, warm air is transported to the outside more quickly, causing the walls to cool down. And this is precisely where greasy coatings like to settle. Certain carpets and laminates also contain plasticisers, which favours fogging. If necessary, these floors must be completely replaced.
As bad as the stains look and the measures sound, you will hear something good in the end. The discolouration is a purely visual problem and completely harmless to humans and animals.
My life in a nutshell? On a quest to broaden my horizon. I love discovering and learning new skills and I see a chance to experience something new in everything – be it travelling, reading, cooking, movies or DIY.
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