Drying out plaster

[themoo]

I had some plastering done at the end of December. Unbeknownst to me there was a leak building up under my bath as the overflow pipe had come loose. My plumber came and sorted the leak, but then sealed the bath up again when it was still considerably damp underneath, so the plaster went fuzzy. I've unsealed the bath panel and a dehumidifier cleared up the remaining moisture. How long will the plaster take to dry or will I need to have it done again? The "fuzz" has gone but it's still a couple of different colours. I have had the dehumidifier up against the plaster but it isn't sucking any more moisture out.

Thank you.

 

[Pharun]

Hi, the fuzzy stuff was probably salts and nothing to worry about, the plaster should dry out quickly if you allow plenty of air flow to allow the moisture to leave , now drying time depends on the plaster backing, if it's plaster board or sand and cement they will dry out reasonably quickly, if it is a carlite product like browning or bonding then you may need to stick a warm air heater in front of it as those backings just love water, as long as the plaster is not crumbling away and rotting it should be fine

 

[themoo]

Thank youy - it's bonding, so I probably would need to put the heater on for a bit. Will it stay different colours? I keep hoping that I'll wake up and it's all turned the same colour.

 

[Pharun]

It should dry a bit lighter but I expect it to still show a watermark , it should paint over without issues, the worry with carlites like Bonding is it can rot if it is subject to damp/water over a long period, but if it is still solid and not blown away from the wall it should all be good

 

[themoo]

I think that's what happened last time and why I needed to have it replastered as there had been a leak there for some time. I really hope that doesn't happen again, I don't want to spend out another £150!

 

[Pharun]

Let's hope not, in the photo it looks solid, mind you IMHO Bonding is a bad choice of material for a bathroom or anywhere there is a chance of damp/moisture or leakages, there are materials on the market that can withstand water contact , good old sand and cement with a waterproofer added is hard to beat, and it's cheap , and if your wall does fail it would only be a small patch at the bottom of the wall and easily repaired

 

[themoo]

I really appreciate your help. Thank you.

 

[Pharun]

you're welcome