PROTIMETER Salts Analysis Kit  

The Protimeter Salt Analysis kit enables a surveyor to analyze samples of wallpaper and plaster for the presence of soil salts.

Certain nitrates and chlorides are deposited by evaporation of soil water (rising damp) on the surface of walls. A meaningful analysis can therefore be carried out provided a wall has not been disturbed for several years.

It consists of two chemicals packed in sachets of the correct amount for each test, a bottle of distilled water, and two measuring beakers.

The test is very simple and takes just a few minutes. A color change will indicate whether or not certain nitrates and chlorides are present.

The diagnosis of the origin of salts should not be made on the presence of salt alone, but considering other information available such as the moisture distribution within the building. A high reading of nitrates may signify that evaporation of soil water has continued for a long time. Soil salts are hygroscopic.