Approaches to Indicate if Your Water Damage is New or Old

A natural problem that a lot of houses run into is some form of water damage. As water damage restoration experts, Paul Davis recognize the complications that water damage produces, especially when it can’t be seen. Your home has pipes everywhere, this includes the inside of your ceilings and walls. If these pipes leak or have condensation on them, they can slowly deteriorate your walls and ceilings. One of the more frustrating situations to this is checking whether the water damage is old or new.

Nevertheless, when you detect damage to your walls or water spots on your ceiling, these are the sure signs of a pipe that’s leaking or condensation generating the problem. Since the space is concealed, though, it’s challenging to figure out how long the problem has lasted. Although there isn’t an approach to figure out precisely how long your water damage problem has lingered, there are some ways to diagnose whether the water damage is old or new.

Determine the Age of the Damage Caused by Water

You can find out an estimated time frame of your water damage by following this step-by-step process:

  • History of the House: If your property has any spots from water damage, it’s fundamental to keep a record of them when figuring out whether damage generated from water is old or new. Additionally, you’ll want to be apprehensive of any weather that could bring hidden water damage to the surface like heavy rain. Know your property, since pipes with a slow drip can take months to surface, and if you understand what’s new and what’s old, you’ll be able to identify your problem faster.
  • History of the House: Keep a record of any spots on your walls or ceilings and take into account any strong weather you had in your area like a downpour. Water spots and damages can take months to materialize if the leak is modest. An older home could have some water spots and damages that were sustained previously. So it’s fundamental to keep a record of the spots you observe while finding out whether this is new water damage or old water damage.
  • Touch the Spot: Go on and feel the spot- this can reveal a lot about the age of the water damage. A newer spot will feel wet but your ceiling or drywall will still feel the same, while an older spot will be mushy and spongy because your material would have taken in a fair amount of water.
  • Look for Rings: Having rings around the damaged spot generated by water presents its age. Consider it like a tree- the more rings it has, the older the water damage is. Different shadings of the blemish is also helpful since it shows that the area leaks, dries, gets saturated, dries, etc. If it’s a new water spot, the area will be a single stain with zero rings around it.
  • Examine the Materials: Materials like thick paint and tiles can actually trap water and moisture, so if you have a spot caused by water leaking through one of these, this can indicate there’s been a buildup of water for awhile. Knowing the materials can help you address your water damage problems more efficiently.
  • Mold Inspection: If you see that bacteria is present, your water damage has been present for about two to three days.
  • Deterioration: Your material doesn’t typically decay by the first case of water damage. And if there has been deterioration, this means your material has been vulnerable to repeated standing water or flooding.

Eliminate Damage Caused from Water & Call Paul

If you’re having water damage issues, look to Paul Davis. It’s critical to take care of any dripping pipes in your house before the damage becomes serious. Our water damage restoration professionals can find a leak and fix your property back to normal conditions no matter the size of the job. Contact Paul today at (410) 638-8104 and franchise near your area will be there to assist you.