New-Old Water Damage – Help from Water Damage Restoration Experts

A common issue that a lot of residences face is some form of water damage. As water damage restoration experts, Paul Davis recognize the problems that water damage causes, especially when it isn’t in sight. Your residence has plumbing running throughout it, including the inside of your ceilings and walls. If these pipes have condensation on them or a leak, they can gradually corrode your ceiling or walls. One of the more difficult parts to this is discovering whether or not the water damage is new or old.

Nevertheless, when you catch damage to your walls or water spots on your ceiling, these are clues indicating a leaky pipe or condensation generating the issue. Since the space is unseen, though, it’s tough to figure out how long the issue has been at hand. While there isn’t an approach to figure out precisely how long your water damage issue has lingered, there are some ways to indicate whether the water damage is new or old.

Tips On Damage Generated by Water – Establish its Age

You can gain some insight on whether the damage generated by water is old or new by following this step-by-step process:

  • History of the House: If your property has any water spots, it’s essential to keep track of them when determining whether your water damage is new or old. Also, you’ll want to be apprehensive of any weather that could bring hidden water damage to the surface such as a rain storm. Know your house, since smaller leaks can take months to appear, and if you understand what’s new and what’s old, you’ll be able to diagnose your issue quicker.
  • History of the House: Keep track of any spots on your ceiling or walls and take into account any outside influences like a heavy rain storm. Damages and spots derived from water can take months to appear if the leak is modest. An older house could have some water spots and damages that were sustained previously. So it’s essential to keep track of the spots you observe while figuring out whether this is new water damage or old water damage.
  • Touch the Spot: If the water spot is aged, it will be spongy and soft since during the time of the leaking water, your drywall or ceiling has absorbed a good amount of water. A new spot will feel wet but it won’t be soft like an older spot.
  • Look for Rings: If you see just a dark spot with no rings around it, this demonstrates that the damage generated by water is new. Old damage generated by water usually has rings around it, and like trees, the more rings shows the age. Different colored and shades of rings exhibits that the spot has been saturated, dried, saturated, dried, etc.
  • Examine the Materials: Get to know the material around your house, since water and moisture can become trapped by tiles and thick paint. And if spots caused by water show up through these types of materials, this indicates the accumulation of water has remained for awhile.
  • Mold Inspection: If you find that bacteria is there, the damage generated by water has been present for about two to three days.
  • Rot: If your materials deteriorate from damage produced by water, this is usually the outcome of consistent flooding or standing water. Decomposition usually won’t occur from the first case of a leak.

Get Help from a Knowledgeable Water Damage Restoration Specialist

If you’re having problems with damages that are produced by water, look to Paul Davis. It’s vital to take care of any leaks in your house before the damage becomes extensive. Our water damage restoration experts can locate a leak and repair your house back to normal no matter how big or small the job is. Call us now at (301) 948-8008 and franchise near your area is there to assist you.