Bought a $200 moisture meter and honestly it was a waste of money

I picked up a fancy pinless moisture meter from a big box store last month because everyone online says you need one before painting or flooring. Used it on a wall that felt dry and it read high, then a patch of damp drywall read low, so I just ended up using the old screwdriver test anyway. Anyone else find these things more confusing than helpful, or did I just buy the wrong type?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_evan26d agoMost Upvoted

Screwdriver test never lies man. I get wanting the fancy tool but sometimes the old way just works better. Is a moisture meter really worth the fuss for most home projects?

sarah53126d ago

I had a project a while back where I was trying to dry out some water damage in a basement corner. Used the screwdriver test and it felt dry after a few days. But the drywall started peeling a couple weeks later. Turned out the wood behind it was still wet enough to cause rot. So for me, the moisture meter actually saved a redo. @the_evan I get why you'd trust the old way, but in my case it didn't catch the deeper moisture. Now I use both together. Screwdriver for a quick check, meter for the stuff I can't see.

olivia_allen26d ago

Doesn't that prove the point though @the_evan, that sometimes the screwdriver just doesn't cut it?