Follow These Steps to Discover the Age of Water Damage

A typical issue that a lot of houses run into is some form of water damage. As water damage repair professionals, Paul Davis recognize the problems that water damage produces, especially when it isn’t in sight. Your home has plumbing everywhere, including the inside of your ceilings and walls. If these pipes leak or have condensation on them, they can gradually erode your walls and ceilings. One of the more difficult aspects to this is finding out whether or not the water damage is old or new.

Since the pipes are hidden, you can get an estimate of how long you’ve had water problems by analyzing the water damage itself. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to figure out a precise timeline, but we have some advice on how to evaluate the damage so you can come up with an estimated time on how long you’ve had water in the area.

Discover How Old the Damage Produced by Water is with These Steps

You can find out whether your water damage is old or new by following these steps:

  • History of the House: Keep track of any spots on your ceiling or walls and take into account any strong weather you had in your location such as a heavy rain storm. Water spots can take months to materialize if it’s a slight leak. Older properties may already have some water spots that were sustained previously. So it’s important to take note of the spots you notice while finding out whether this is new water damage or old water damage.
  • History of the House: When your residence has any spots from water damage, it’s important to take note of them when finding out whether your water damage is old or new. Additionally, you’ll want to be apprehensive of any weather that could bring hidden water damage to the surface such as heavy rain. Know your home, since pipes with a slow drip can take months to surface, and if you understand what’s new and what’s old, you’ll be able to identify your problem faster.
  • Touch the Spot: You’ll be able to establish whether your water damage is old or new just by feeling it. An old spot is going to be soft since the material has absorbed a lot of moisture. A new spot is going to be wet, however, the material will have a solid feel to it.
  • Look for Rings: Outlining rings around the damaged spot produced by water indicates age. Remember it as if it was a tree- the more rings it has, the longer the damage generated by water has been around. Discoloration of the spot is also helpful since it shows that the area leaks, dries, leaks, dries, so on and so forth. If it’s a new spot caused by water, the area will be a single stain with no rings around it.
  • Examine the Materials: Get to know the material in your home, since water and moisture can get trapped by thick paint and tiles. So if water spots show up through these types of materials, this indicates the accumulation of water has remained for a period of time.
  • Mold Inspection: If you see that bacteria is present, your water damage has lingered for approximately two to three days.
  • Deterioration: When your materials rot from damage produced by water, this is normally the consequence of consistent flooding or standing water. Decay normally won’t occur from the first instance of a leak.

Remove Damage Generated by Water & Call Paul

If you’re having problems with damages that are produced by water, look to Paul Davis. It’s crucial to take care of any dripping pipes on your property before the damage becomes serious. Our water damage repair experts can find dripping pipes and fix your home back to normal conditions no matter how big or small the job is. Reach out to Paul now at (321) 690-0000 and franchise near your area will be there to help out.