Figuring Out the Age of Water Damage - Water Damage Restoration

When you have backed-up toilets, sinks or bathtubs that overflow, it's obvious that water damage repairs will be necessary. Unfortunately, your residence can suffer from water damage in ways that aren't as noticeable. Because you have plumbing running all over your home, you can have a pipe leaking or a buildup of condensation between your walls or ceilings. It's an alarming circumstance since this isn't in view- you won't know until you have water damage, and then it's difficult to pinpoint how long the problem has persisted.

For these spaces that aren't visible, it's challenging to find out how old or new the water damage is. Nevertheless, you could have a pipe that's been slightly leaking for a period of time but because it's been concealed, you don't have a timeline. There's no sure way to indicate the precise time of the problem, but there are methods to estimate the age of the water damage.

A Guide On Damage Produced by Water - Determine its Time Frame

You can obtain an estimated age of the damage induced from water by taking this step-by-step process:

• History of the House: An older residence could already have some previous damage produced from water, so it's essential to keep a record of what's there and to note if the damage alters over a period of time. Tracking the weather is a great idea as well, because if you have a small leak, it can take awhile for a spot to surface. Keeping track of your water spots and damages can save you lots of time when diagnosing whether the damage generated from water is new or old.
• History of the House: Take note of any spots on your walls or ceilings and take into account any outside influences like a heavy rain storm. Damages and spots derived from water can take months to materialize if it's a slight leak. If your residence is an older home, the spots generated by water damage could have been there for awhile. So it's important to keep a record of the spots you notice while finding out whether this is new water damage or old water damage.
• Touch the Spot: You'll can determine whether your water damage is new or old just by touching it. An old spot will be squishy since the material has absorbed a lot of moisture. A new spot will be wet, but the material will still have a solid feel to it.
• Look for Rings: Outlining rings around your water damage spot indicates age. Consider it like a tree- the more rings it has, the older the water damage is. Different shadings of the blemish is also helpful since it indicates that the area gets soaked, dries, gets saturated, dries, etc. If it's a new spot produced by water, the area will be a single stain with zero rings.
• Examine the Materials: It's important to know about the materials that make up your walls or ceilings, since things like tiles or thick paint can actually trap moisture. If this is the circumstance, even a small water spot can indicate the buildup of water has been around for a period of time.
• Mold Inspection: If you see that bacteria, or mold, is there, your water damage has been present for nearly two to three days.
• Decomposition: If your materials decay from water damage, this is usually the issue of regular flooding or standing water. Decomposition usually won't happen from the first case of leakage.

Get Help from a Skillful Water Damage Repair Specialist

When you're having problems with damages that are produced by water, Paul Davis is here to help out. It's important to fix any leaks in your home before the damage becomes serious. Our water damage restoration professionals can find dripping pipes and fix your home back to normal conditions no matter how big or small the job is. Reach out to us today at +1-403-696-8886 and franchise near you will be there to help out.