Approaches to Detect if Water Damage is Old or New
One of the more common issues a property can experience is water damage. As water damage repair professionals, Paul Davis knows the problems that water damage causes, especially when it isn't in sight. Your home has pipes running throughout it, including the inside of your ceilings and walls. If these pipes have condensation on them or a leak, they can gradually wear out your ceiling or walls. One of the more frustrating situations to this is determining whether the water damage is new or old.
For these areas that aren't visible, it's challenging to check 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 hidden, you don't have a timeline. There's no sure way to check the precise time of the problem, but there are some methods to approximate the age of the water damage.
Figure Out the Lifetime of the Damage Caused by Water
The following steps can help you judge whether the damage caused by water is new or old:
- History of the House: If your house has any spots from water damage, it's critical to keep a record of them when finding out whether damage provoked from water is new or old. Furthermore, you'll want to be apprehensive of any weather that could bring hidden water damage to the surface such as heavy rain. Know your property, since modest leaks can take some time to appear, and if you understand what's new and what's old, you'll be able to identify your problem faster.
- History of the House: Keep a record of any spots on your walls or ceilings and take into account any outside influences like a downpour. Damages and spots caused by water can take some time to occur if it's a slight leak. If your residence is an older home, the spots caused by water damage might have been there for some time. So it's critical to keep a record of the spots you observe while indicating whether this is new water damage or old water damage.
- Touch the Spot: Go on and touch the spot, because this can tell you a lot about the age of the water damage. A new spot will feel wet but your ceiling or drywall will still feel durable, while an old spot will be mushy and spongy because your material would have absorbed a good amount of moisture.
- Look for Rings: If you see one dark spot with zero rings around it, this shows that the water damage is new. Old water damage will have rings around it, and like trees, the more rings shows the age. Discolored rings exhibits that the area has been soaked, dried, soaked, dried, etc.
- Examine the Materials: Materials like tiles and thick paint can trap water, so when you have a water spot leaking through one of these, this can indicate there's been water lingering for awhile. Being aware of the materials in your home can help you focus on your water damage problems more efficiently.
- Mold Inspection: Bacteria, or mold, growth normally means that the damage caused by water has lingered for about two to three days.
- Decay: If your materials decay from water damage, this is typically the consequence of repeat flooding or standing water. Deterioration typically won't happen from the first case of leakage.
Water Damage Repair Specialists - Get in Touch with Paul Davis
No matter the degree of the damage caused by water, Paul Davis is here to help. Our team of professional water damage repair contractors can resolve the problem and have your house back in great condition. Remedy the issue now before it gets in a worse condition and call us at +1-403-696-8886 to find a local franchise near you.
