Expert Water Damage Restoration Advice - How New is Your Water Damage?

One of the more persistent problems a property can go through is water damage. As water damage restoration experts, Paul Davis understands the problems that water damage generates, especially when it can't be seen. Your home has plumbing everywhere, including the inside of your ceilings and walls. When these pipes have condensation on them or a leak, they can gradually deteriorate your ceiling or walls. One of the more hard parts to this is checking whether or not the damage caused by water is old or new.

You can check how old or new your water problems are by analyzing the water damage itself since the pipes aren't visible. Unfortunately, it's hard to find out a precise timeline, but we have some guidance on how to evaluate the damage so you can come up with an estimated time on how long you've had water in the area.

Figure Out How Old or New the Damage Caused by Water is with This Guidance

You can find out an approximate age of the damage generated from water by taking this step-by-step process:

• 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 heavy rain storm. Damages and spots derived from water can take awhile to present themselves if the leak is small. Older properties may have some water spots that were sustained previously. So it's important to take note of the spots you see while indicating whether this is new water damage or old water damage.
• History of the House: Keep track of any spots on your ceiling or walls and take into account any strong weather you had in your location such as a heavy rain storm. Damages and spots derived from water can take awhile to present themselves if the leak is small. Older properties may have some water spots that were sustained previously. So it's important to take note of the spots you see while indicating whether this is new water damage or old water damage.
• Touch the Spot: Go ahead and feel the spot- this will reveal a lot about the age of the water damage. A new spot will be wet but your ceiling or drywall will still be durable, while an old spot will be soft and spongy since your material would have taken in a good amount of moisture.
• Look for Rings: Having rings around your water damage spot indicates age. Remember it as if it was a tree- the more rings it has, the older the water damage is. Color variations of the stain is also helpful because it indicates that the area leaks, dries, leaks, dries, etcetera. If it's a new spot produced by water, the area will be a single blemish with zero rings around it.
• Examine the Materials: It's important to be cognizant of the materials that comprise your ceiling or walls, because things such as tiles or thick paint can trap the water. If this is the case, even a water spot that's small can mean the buildup of water has been remaining for a while.
• Mold Inspection: If you find that bacteria, or mold, is present, the damage produced by water has been present for nearly two to three days.
• Rot: Decaying material means that the damage produced by water is either a repeat offender or that it's serious because there's standing water. A first instance of water damage usually doesn't cause decomposition.

Call Paul - Your Professional Water Damage Restoration Technicians

When you're having problems with damages that are created by water, Paul Davis is here to help out. It's fundamental to fix any dripping pipes on your property before the damage becomes serious. Our water damage restoration experts can find dripping pipes and fix your property back to normal conditions no matter the size of the job. Contact Paul now at (800)805-9662 and near your location will be there to help out.