Helping to Indicate the Age of Water Damage

One of the more typical issues a house can go through is water damage. As water damage restoration experts, Paul Davis recognize the issues that water damage leads to, especially when it isn't in sight. Your property has pipes running throughout it, this includes the inside of your walls and ceilings. If these pipes leak or have condensation on them, they can slowly deteriorate your ceiling or walls. One of the more hard aspects to this is discovering whether or not the water damage is new or old.

Nevertheless, when you catch water spots on your ceiling or damage to your walls, these are clues indicating a leaky pipe or condensation causing a problem. Because the area is unseen, though, it's challenging to figure out how long the issue has lasted. Although there isn't an approach to know exactly how long your water damage problem has persisted, there are some ways to diagnose whether the water damage is new or old.

Tips On Water Damage - Establish its Age

The following tips can help you understand whether the damage generated by water is new or old:

• History of the House: Take note of any spots on your ceiling or walls and take into account any strong weather you had in your location such as a downpour. Damages and spots caused by water can take months to come up if it's a slight leak. Older properties could already have some water spots that were sustained previously. So it's fundamental to keep a record of the spots you see while indicating whether this is old water damage or old water damage.
• History of the House: An old home could already have some previous damage caused from water, so it's critical to keep a record of what's there and to note if the damage changes overtime. Tracking the weather is a great idea as well, because if you have a a slow leak, it can take awhile for a spot to appear. Keeping track of your water damages can save you lots of time when determining whether the damage generated from water is new or old.
• Touch the Spot: If the water spot is old, it will be spongy and squishy since during the time of the leaking water, your ceiling or drywall has taken in a good amount of water. You'll feel moisture with a new spot but the area won't be soft like an older spot.
• Look for Rings: Remember how rings on a tree indicate the age of the tree? The same approach can be used for water spots. An old water spot will have rings around it. They will also be discolored since the spot gets saturated then dries and gets saturated again then dries again, etcetera. A new spot will be dark with zero rings circling it.
• Examine the Materials: Get to know the material around your house, since water can become trapped by thick paint and tiles. And if water spots show up through these, this indicates the buildup of water has remained for a period of time.
• Mold Inspection: If bacteria has had time to inhabit the area, this indicates the damage generated by water has lingered for about two to three days.
• Decomposition: Deteriorated material means that the damage generated by water is either a repeat offender or that it's extensive because there's standing water. A first case of damage generated by water typically doesn't cause rot.

Dispose of Damage Caused from Water & Call Paul Davis

For all your water damage restoration needs, call Paul Davis. If there's a leak that you can't identify, it's crucial to get in touch with a professional. Paul Davis' professional team has the experience and response time required to get your house back in order. For a local franchise near your location, reach out to us at (705)458-8001 and we'll get a professional for your assistance.