Is dirty Tyvek a problem?
Debra_Ann
| Posted in General Questions on
Our weather has turned very wet this month, and a lot of dirt has been splashed up during heavy rains onto the Tyvek covering the walls of our house under construction. I had read somewhere that it was important to keep Tyvek clean, as the dirt can cause it to lose water repellency.
Is this a real issue? Will I need to replace this muddy Tyvek, or can it be cleaned?
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Replies
I don't have any specific knowledge on Tyvek, but given the fact that it's expected to be insitu, uncovered for up to 6 months, it would be pretty crazy to expect it not to get any dirt on it. Just cleaning it is probably fine. Calling Tyvek would be the way to be sure.
Note that Tyvek is a DuPont product so you’d need to call DuPont :-)
I think you’d be ok just cleaning it too. Tyvek is often exposed for a while during construction, and gets rained on, has mud splashed on it, etc, and I’ve never heard of any problems.
Bill
Hi Debra,
I would definitely recommend cleaning it before covering it so that the dirt doesn't hold water against the housewrap, which is one common cause of failure. And you'll want to clean any areas well where you will be applying flashing tapes, sealants, etc. if that is relevant.