It’s only been a week that I have returned to my abode in Delhi. After nine weeks of non-stop travel, I was elated to be on my bed in my room. Alas, my happiness was punctured by seasonal woes. Read to know what I have been reading these days and why I have joined the “Freedom from Dampness” initiative.
In these past three months, I traveled across three countries and lived in more than 12 hotels. My travel assignments literally kept me on-the-go. With the kind of experiences in my belly and wondrous stories in my pocket, I am just not complaining. There were times when I went crazy but I enjoyed every bit of it. Of all the fun, the only thing that I missed about India was the monsoons and the friendly banter over chai and samosas. It might rain in any part of the world, you might make pakodas too but the fun of having it with the whole family can never be like you do it in India. Every year, I wait for the rainy season for it brings the petrichor that emanates from the grass. The flowers and leaves look as lovely as new after being washed away with rains and most importantly, the rains never forget to romanticize the surroundings.
Like every other girl who loves the idea of rains and romance, I love monsoons too. But this time they really disappointed me. First, I was not here to enjoy them and second they left their after-marks all over my house. Well, I wouldn’t blame the rains entirely but yes they did play havoc in my house. Last week, when I walked in the house, I could only smell dampness. As I explored further, I was horrified to see the sight of peeled paint and water seepage marks both in my washroom and veranda. No doubt, this house is old and we have been looking forward to re-do some sections of the house but this seemed like a warning bell. I did try to ignore these leakages and marks for the first two days but with the worsening state, I couldn’t do it for long.
The washroom leakage was becoming an issue and I was very perturbed. Husband was neck-deep in his work, elders of the house were off for a trip, and me with no first-hand knowledge was left to look at the peeling paints of the house. When I couldn’t decide whom to reach out for help, I actually googled temporary solutions. Within few clicks, I had lots of stuff to read around high-quality and efficient waterproofing technology. It seemed like every other person was talking about house and health issues after monsoons. Just like me if you are also wondering that why all this was so new to me, the answer is it is the elders of the family who have always taken care of these things and thus I have never had the chance to learn about them.
As I read more, I felt enlightened. Never before this had I realized the importance of using suitable surface coatings which serves as a barrier against water and functions more as a protective shield rather than as a decorative coating. I have always lived in apartments and never realized the nitty-gritties involved with the construction of a new house. So now this was all new to me. The first article said, ‘terrace is the first thing that must be planned well as well as inspected first.’ A leak in the terrace finds its way into the house. Look for all the cracks in the house and mend them immediately. Ever since then, I have been inspecting my house with new eyes. Not only have I spotted termite infestation at one corner of the terrace but also new sources of leakage too.
As far as the solution is considered, I must tell you that not only did I read and call the plumber to fix the small leakages; I also got in touch with the team of Dr. Fixit. The internet informed me about their new campaign to free our houses from the clutches of dampness and I was quite amused to see their new video where Mr. Amitabh Bachchan takes center-stage.
I asked them for temporary solutions for my house and gladly they sent some more articles to read about their products and understand the new technologies of waterproofing. I will not be campaigning for any of their products until I have used them but as a blogger, I have become a part of their campaign because all the information provided was really helpful to me. With so many structural problems and health hazards, it is important to say no to damp walls, damp ceilings, rising dampness, cracks and leakages.
While writing about my experience, I also realized that so often we neglect these small but important things around us in our house. These are everyday things and directly related to our health as well. While I have been busy traveling, my house has been suffering.Had I taken appropriate action, this wouldn’t have been the case.
Do check out some interesting articles on how you could keep your Home healthy and happy by visiting The Happy Homes Blog.
