Approaches to Detect if Water Damage is New or Old

One of the more typical issues a home can go through is water damage. As water damage restoration experts, Paul Davis is aware of the problems that water damage causes, especially when it isn't in sight. Your property has plumbing everywhere, including the inside of your ceilings and walls. If these pipes have condensation on them or a leak, they can begin to erode your walls and ceilings. One of the more difficult aspects to this is determining whether or not the water damage is new or old.

For these spaces that can't be seen, it's challenging to verify how old the water damage is. Nevertheless, you could have a leaky pipe that was slightly dripping for awhile but because it's been hidden, you don't know how long. There's no sure way to indicate the precise time of the problem, but there are some approaches to approximate the age of the water damage.

Find Out the Time Frame of Your Water Damage

You can obtain an approximate time frame of the damage produced from water by following this step-by-step process:

• History of the House: Take note of any spots on your walls or ceilings and take into account any outside influences like a downpour. Damages and spots derived from water can take months to materialize if the leak is small. If your residence is an older house, the water damage spots could have been there for some time. So it's fundamental to keep track of the spots you perceive while determining whether this is old 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 outside influences like a downpour. Damages and spots derived from water can take months to materialize if the leak is small. If your residence is an older house, the water damage spots could have been there for some time. So it's fundamental to keep track of the spots you perceive while determining whether this is old water damage or old water damage.
• Touch the Spot: When the water spot is aged, it will be spongy and squishy since during the period of the leaking water, your drywall or ceiling has absorbed a good amount of water. A new spot will feel wet but the area won't be soft to the touch.
• Look for Rings: When you see a dark spot with zero rings around it, this shows that the water damage is new. Old water damage usually has rings around it, and like trees, the more rings indicates the age. Different shades and colors of rings reveals that the spot has been saturated, dried, saturated, dried, etc.
• Examine the Materials: It's important to know about the materials that make up your walls or ceilings, since things like thick paint or tiles can trap the water. When this is the circumstance, even a water spot that's small can mean the accumulation of water has been remaining for a while.
• Mold Inspection: If mold has had time to colonize, this implies that the damage produced by water has lingered for nearly two to three days.
• Decomposition: When your materials deteriorate from water damage, this is usually the consequence of repeat flooding or standing water. Rot usually doesn't occur from the first case of leakage.

Get Help from a Professional Water Damage Repair Contractor

No matter the measure of the damage produced by water, Paul Davis is here to help out. Our team of experienced water damage repair technicians can resolve the problem and have your house back in good condition. Remedy the issue today before it gets in a worse condition and contact us at (403)342-4666 to find a local franchise near you.