Ways to Tell if Your Water Damage is Old or New

When you have clogged toilets, sinks or bathtubs that flood, you know that you're in need of water damage restoration. Though, your house can experience water damage in ways that aren't as apparent. Because you have plumbing running through your house, you can have a pipe leaking or a buildup of condensation between your walls or ceilings. It's an inconvenient circumstance because this isn't visible- you won't recognize it until you there's water damage, and then it's hard to define how long the problem has persisted.

Nevertheless, when you recognize damage to your walls or water spots on your ceiling, these are flags indicating a leaky pipe or condensation generating the problem. Since the space is unseen, though, it's difficult to ascertain how long the problem has been at hand. Although there isn't a way to figure out precisely how long your water damage problem has persisted, there are some ways to indicate whether the water damage is new or old.

Discover the Lifetime of the Damage Caused by Water

You can learn whether the damage generated by water is old or new by following this step-by-step process:

• History of the House: An old house might already have some previous damage provoked from water, so it's essential to keep a record of what's there and to note if the damage alters over a period of time. Keeping track of the weather is a great idea as well, because if you have a small leak, it can take months for a water spot to surface. Taking note of your water spots and damages can save you lots of time when figuring out whether your water damage is new or old.
• History of the House: An old house might already have some previous damage provoked from water, so it's essential to keep a record of what's there and to note if the damage alters over a period of time. Keeping track of the weather is a great idea as well, because if you have a small leak, it can take months for a water spot to surface. Taking note of your water spots and damages can save you lots of time when figuring out whether your water damage is new or old.
• Touch the Spot: You'll can establish whether the damage generated by water is old or new just by feeling it. An older spot is going to be mushy because the material has taken in a lot of moisture. A newer spot is going to be moist, but the material will feel solid.
• Look for Rings: When you see a darker spot with no rings around it, this indicates that the water damage is new. Older water damage will have rings around it, and like trees, the more rings shows the age. Discolored rings exhibits that the spot has been saturated, dried, saturated, dried, etc.
• Examine the Materials: Learn about the material around your home, because water and moisture can become trapped by thick paint and tiles. So if spots caused by water show up through these, this indicates the buildup of water has been lingering for awhile.
• Mold Inspection: Bacteria growth typically means the damage generated by water has been present for approximately two to three days.
• Decay: Your material won't decompose by the first instance of water damage. So if there has been deterioration, this indicates your material has been susceptible to repeated standing water or flooding.

Get Help from an Experienced Water Damage Repair Specialist

The size of the damage generated by water doesn't matter, Paul Davis is here to assist. Our team of skillful water damage repair contractors can fix the problem and have your house in a great state. Fix the problem today before it gets in a worse condition and call us at (403)342-4666 for a local franchise near you.