Approaches to Determine if Your Water Damage is New or Old

Water damage repair is a common problem for any home, and every now and then the problem is clear and other times it's concealed. Things such as flooding toilets, sinks and bathtubs are common issues connected to water damage and you know there is a problem when this happens. However, pipes run all over your house, and this includes places you can't see like between the floors and inside the walls. Unfortunately a pipe leaking in an unknown space can happen. It's an aggravating obstacle because you can't see what's going on and you won't be aware before the water damage appears.

Because the pipes aren't visible, you can get an approximation of how long you've had water issues by evaluating the water damage itself. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find out an exact timeline, but we have some tips on how to analyze the damage so you can come up with an approximate time on how long you've had water in the area.

Tips On Damage Induced by Water - Establish its Time Frame

By following the step-by-step process listed below, you'll be able to indicate the age of the damage induced by water:

  • History of the House: Keep a record of any spots on your walls or ceilings and take into account any strong weather you had in your area like a heavy rain storm. Water spots and damages can take months to occur if the leak is small. Older properties could have some water spots and damages that were sustained previously. So it's fundamental to keep a record of the spots you see while indicating whether this is new water damage or old water damage.
  • History of the House: Take note of any spots on your walls or ceilings and take into account any strong weather you had in your area like a heavy rain storm. Water spots and damages can take months to occur if the leak is small. Older properties could have some water spots and damages that were sustained previously. So it's fundamental to keep a record of the spots you see while indicating whether this is new water damage or old water damage.
  • Touch the Spot: When the water spot is aged, it will be spongy and soft because during the time of the water leak, your ceiling or drywall has taken in a good amount of water. You'll feel wetness with a new spot but it won't be soft to the touch.
  • Look for Rings: When you see a dark spot with no rings around it, this indicates that the damage generated by water is new. Old damage generated by water will have rings around it, and like trees, the more rings shows the age. Different shades and colors of rings exhibits that the spot has been saturated, dried, saturated, dried, etc.
  • Examine the Materials: Get to know the material in your home, because water and moisture can get trapped by tiles and thick paint. And if water spots show up through these types of materials, this means the buildup of moisture has been there for awhile.
  • Mold Inspection: If bacteria has had time to settle in, this implies that the damage generated by water has been present for about two to three days.
  • Deterioration: Your material won't decompose from the first instance of water damage. So if there has been deterioration, this means your material has been susceptible to repeated flooding or standing water.

Call Paul Davis - Your Skillful Water Damage Repair Specialists

No matter the size of the damage generated by water, Paul Davis is here to help out. Our team of skillful water damage repair technicians can fix the problem and have your residence back in good condition. Remedy the problem today before it gets in a worse condition and get in touch with us at +1-403-696-8886 to find a local franchise near you.