When the temperature rises and the summer heat picks up, your driveway will start to get moist out of nowhere! If it persists and worsens, it might begin to limit how you can utilize your runway.
A driveway’s interior moisture levels are affected by temperature, humidity, and other variables like daily driving and rain, which may not be as noticeable initially. Here’s what we will bring to light why your driving is always soaking wet!
Why Is My Driveway Always Wet?
1. Elevated Ambient Temperature
Air temperature is crucial in how quickly water evaporates from a surface. As the air temperature increases, the rate at which water evaporates from the ground increases.
Because of this, it leads to more water being present on the ground and more condensation occurring on asphalt surfaces.
Therefore, it is recommended to use a water-resistant sealer or flooring finish on the concrete to reduce moisture flow and operate at high humidity levels.
Sometimes, the high ambient temperature is what’s causing all the moisture to rise into the air, which is why your driveway is constantly wet.
2. Flooring Failure
If you’ve noticed your driveway getting wet more often than not, the problem might be the flooring underneath or on top of your driveway.
Further, your driveway can be made of concrete, asphalt, brick, or other materials. If these materials are not properly installed, they can become weak or cracked.
As well as that, another reason for your driveway being wet is if a professional contractor did not adequately maintain it.
Therefore, the material you’ve chosen to cover your driveway is failing to keep it dry, leading to a lot of water being absorbed by your concrete.
3. Lack Of Drainage
Before you can anticipate seeing wet pavement, blocked gutters and downspouts might contribute to a lack of drainage systems.
Also, your driveway may be made of concrete, which does not absorb water as quickly as other surfaces such as asphalt or gravel.
Finally, if you live in an area with significant rainfall and poor drainage, the ground around your house may become saturated with water and cause your driveway to become wetter.
However, if this happens regularly, you’ll have to deal with flooding in your home and yard.
4. Leaking Water Source
Sprinklers, home equipment, plumbing—anywhere water is routed through or close to concrete—could be significant sources of moisture in concrete if pipes break or are damaged.
As you can imagine, these sources are capable of producing considerable moisture-related harm if breaches go undetected.
Due to this, localized water infiltration can exacerbate cracking, flaking, scaling, or other unappealing structural faults if it occurs in conjunction with abrupt temperature variations.
Overall, water from these sources can then seep into the ground and find its way into your driveway, making it wet all the time.
5. Groundwater
Groundwater is water that is underground in saturated zones below the surface of the soil.
Apart from this, groundwater can come up through cracks in your driveway or sidewalk and cause them to become wet.
Fortunately, you can prevent this by filling in any gaps with concrete sealant or asphalt shingles.
Accordingly, one of the easiest ways to identify groundwater is by checking the depth of a spot on your driveway.
On that account, if you find deep puddles in these spots near your runway, you may have a problem with groundwater.
6. Insufficient Grade
One thing you need to do is ensure that your driveway receives the proper grade.
In addition, a variety of causes include the soil in the area has been compacted through time and needs to be loosened before you can start grading properly.
Also, there’s the possibility that the soil in that specific spot did not have enough time to dry out after being worked on.
For that reason, it will ensure that water runs off your driveway faster and more efficiently than it would if there were no slope at all.
7. Condensation
Condensation can happen any time, but it’s more common during warm weather.
With that, it usually begins with a fine mist that gradually grows into raindrops or drizzles before turning into a heavy downpour.
Besides that, this process can take minutes or hours, depending on the temperature and humidity.
As you can see, it can arise even when there isn’t any precipitation occurring. It might seem small, but it can lead to more significant problems.
Inevitably, when these droplets come into contact with surfaces like concrete or gravel, they turn back into water and can make your driveway wet.
8. Excessive Humidity
Excessive humidity from nearby bodies of water can affect the ground and cause it to absorb more moisture than it usually would.
Because of that, it can lead to a buildup of water in the soil, which then becomes a problem for your asphalt or concrete.
Clearly, if enough humidity is present over a long period, it can accumulate in the soil and result in standing water that does not drain away quickly.
Above all, it may derive from issues with your driveway and foundation that may also lead you to question why your driveway is perpetually damp.
9. Cracked Grouts
Weak grout structure frequently leads to cracked grout. As intended, the grout mixture’s liquid unavoidably evaporates, but excessive evaporation might produce pinholes and cracking.
After all, the grout is there to help hold together the stones of your driveway so that they’re not constantly shifting.
When these stones are cracked, they lose their grip on one another and start crumbling into the mud.
Overall, this mud can then get into the cracks between the stones and cause them to leak even more throughout your driveway.
To know more, you can also read our posts on why your driveway is cracking, why your driveway is sinking, and why your garage door won’t close all the way.
Conclusion
Fortunately, you may prevent your driveway from flooding by installing a well-designed drain.
As you can see, concerns with a persistently wet driveway are caused by surface runoff, including ambient temperature, flooring deterioration, and a lack of drainage.
Overall, the most straightforward approach to prevent moisture from collecting in your driveway is with drains and swales!