How to spot water damage
Water leaking can be a serious issue. It can cause serious damage to the building if it is happening over a long duration. Water damage can even affect your health if mold start to grow on it and cause severe infections to you and your family.
Do not ignore the signs of water leakage. Timely identification can help in earlier in reduces the restoration cost and damage as well.
Some of the ways to spot the water damage are as follows:
- Prominent change in Flooring, Ceiling, or Walls:
The water leakage can be easily identified on walls due to peeling of the paint or wallpaper. There is formulation of a bloat or a wrap over a time. They may even feel spongy and wet on touch if the water persists for a longer duration.
Same is the case with ceiling. The leakage become prominent after some time and are visible in from of paint peeling out or wet surface. But if there is a leak beneath the flooring this is something one may not be able to identify it for a long duration.
The leakage can be due to a water leak inside a pipe due to which tiles me loosen and you may notice wetness on the carpeting or on the tile once it has already destroyed the sub-flooring.
Linoleum tile may begin to peel and crack open while wooden flooring or lamination on floor may start to get wrapped up. It is essential to hire a water damage company immediately you discover something like this to avoid further damage.
- Change in the smell:
When water starts to build up in the walls due to leakage there can be development of smell in the area. This usually happens in area which are damp or are not well-ventilated.
If you smell such foul smell, then do not ignore it rather check the area. If there is a water leakage, then it can be due to so pipeline leakage.
While if this happen just after heavy rainfall or winter thaw then this is due to water clogging inside the foundation. Call a water damage service to help you resolve this issue as if you ignore this it may even cause more damage.
- Development of Mold or Stains:
Whenever there is a water damage there are chances of growth of mold or stains. Stains develop in area where the leakage is over a period while mold develop in those areas where it poorly ventilated or dampness is high.
Stains can be discovered in bathroom, washrooms, kitchen, laundry rooms are yellow and orange spots. They are exactly for on the area where the leakage is present and is due to bursting of some pipeline inside.
Mold are develop in area which are damp and have water leakage. They have varied color. They spread through air in form of spores and can be infectious and cause skin, throat, eye infection and may even cause asthma in worst cases. It is highly essential to hire a water damage service to resolve this for you. They can grow in ceiling, walls, carpeting, flooring etc.
- Significant increase in Water Bills:
When there is water leak there are chance you may start discovery unusually high-water bills. Compare your bills with the past bills and try to identify the difference. Consider all the event due to which the water usage has increased or have you added any other water related activity.
If there is a little increase in the bill it can be ignored but if it is huge and you are not able to find any activity than can bring such deviation, then you need to investigate it. Look for leaks and if you are not able to identify call water damage services who can investigate the matter.
- Leakage in pipe and out-dated plumbing:
Identify a water leakage is like finding a needle in the haze as majority of pipes are inside the wall and once cannot identify the place from which one is leaking. The pipe, fixtures, valves used during the foundation continue to work throughout the lifetime you keep on using that house so there are chances of getting wear out.
You cannot even change them over a time duration as they require dismantling the whole house and changing them again. If you feel there is some water leakage hear for water dripping sound in the night when the noise is the least. This may help you to identify the source.
Look near the places from all the water inlets and outlets such as sinks, laundry room, kitchen, washroom, basement, outside your house etc. if you can discover the spot then call a water damage services to restore it for you.
The Bottom Line
The bitter truth is that we neglect the smallest of these faults and ignore these signs. We avoid getting it repaired thinking about the money we have to pay!
But these small repairs can be done on a nominal cost while if a major issue arises it may cost you a lot more. Water can affect the structure of the house as well as your stuff inside the place.
It is advisable to hire a professional water damage services as soon as you discover such an issue to avoid further harm.