Water Damage Repair - Determine the Age of Water Spots

When you have backed-up toilets, sinks or bathtubs that overflow, you know that you’re in need of water damage repair. Nonetheless, your property can come under water damage in ways that aren’t as clear. Since you have pipes running all over your residence, you can have a pipe leaking or an accumulation of condensation between your walls or ceilings. It’s an inconvenient problem since this isn’t in view- you won’t recognize it until you have water damage, and then it’s difficult to identify how long the issue has lingered.

However, when you notice damage to your walls or water spots on your ceiling, these are the sure signs of a leaky pipe or condensation causing a problem. Since the area is hidden, though, it’s tough to verify how long the problem has been at hand. Even though there isn’t an approach to find out precisely how long your water damage issue has lingered, there are some ways to indicate whether the water damage is new or old.

Learn How Old or New the Damage Produced by Water is with These Tips

The following step-by-step process can help you gain insight in figuring out whether your water damage is new or old:

  • History of the House: An old property may already have some previous damage provoked from water, so it’s important to keep track of what’s there and to note if the damage changes over a period of time. Tracking the weather is a good idea as well, because if you have a small leak, it can take months for a spot to surface. Taking note of your water damages can save you lots of time when diagnosing whether your water damage is new or old.
  • History of the House: Take note of any spots on your walls or ceilings and take into account any strong weather you had in your area such as a heavy rain storm. Damages and spots derived from water can take months to surface if the leak is small. Older properties may already have some water spots that were sustained previously. So it’s essential to take note of the spots you see while determining whether this is new water damage or old water damage.
  • Touch the Spot: When the water spot is aged, it will be squishy and mushy because during the time of the water leak, your ceiling or drywall has taken in a good amount of water. A new spot will feel wet but it won’t be soft like an older spot.
  • Look for Rings: When you see a dark spot with no rings around it, this indicates that the water damage is new. Old water damage usually has rings around it, and like trees, the more rings shows the age. Discolored rings exhibits that the area has been soaked, dried, soaked, dried, etc.
  • Examine the Materials: Learn about the material around your property, because water and moisture can become trapped by tiles and thick paint. And if water spots show up through these types of materials, this means the buildup of water has remained for a while.
  • Mold Inspection: If you see that bacteria is there, your water damage has been present for approximately two to three days.
  • Rot: When your materials decay from damage created by water, this is typically the consequence of consistent flooding or standing water. Decomposition typically doesn’t occur from the first instance of a leak.

Get Rid of Water Damage & Call Paul Davis

If you’re having problems with damages that are created by water, look no further than Paul Davis. It’s fundamental to fix any dripping pipes in your residence before the damage becomes extensive. Our water damage repair experts can detect dripping pipes and restore your property back to normal no matter how big or small the job is. Contact Paul now at 989-894-4450 and a local franchise will be there to help out.