Follow These Steps to Determine the Age of Water Spots

One of the more common complications a property can go through is water damage. As water damage repair experts, Paul Davis is aware of the complications that water damage generates, especially when it can’t be seen. Your house has pipes running throughout it, including 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 hard situations to this is finding out whether or not the damage caused by water is old or new.

Since the pipes are hidden, you can get an estimate of how long you’ve had water complications by examining the water damage itself. Unfortunately, it’s hard to figure out an exact 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.

Evaluate How Old Your Water Damage is with These Steps

You can figure out an approximate time frame of the damage generated from water by taking this step-by-step process:

  • History of the House: An older house may already have some previous water damage, so it’s important to keep a record of what’s there and to note if the damage changes overtime. Keeping track of the weather is a great idea too, because if you have a modest leak, it can take awhile for a spot to surface. Taking note of your water spots and damages can save you lots of time when finding out whether the damage caused from water is old or new.
  • History of the House: When your property has any water spots, it’s essential to take note of them when finding out whether your water damage is old or new. 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 property, since smaller leaks can take awhile to surface, and if you know what’s new and what’s old, you’ll be able to identify your issue faster.
  • Touch the Spot: You can touch the spot, because this can disclose a lot about the age of the damage caused by water. A newer spot will be wet but your drywall or ceiling will still be the same, while an older spot will be mushy and squishy because your material would have taken in a fair amount of moisture.
  • Look for Rings: When you see one darker spot with zero rings around it, this indicates that the damage caused by water is new. Older damage caused by water usually has rings around it, and like trees, the more rings determines the age. Different shades and colors of rings exhibits that the spot has been saturated, dried, saturated, dried, etc.
  • Examine the Materials: It’s important to know about the materials that comprise your ceiling or walls, since things like thick paint or tiles can actually trap the water. When this is the circumstance, even a water spot that’s small can indicate the accumulation of water has been remaining for a period of time.
  • Mold Inspection: If you find that bacteria, or mold, is present, the damage caused by water has lingered for about two to three days.
  • Decomposition: Your material doesn’t typically decompose from the first instance of damage created by water. And when there has been decay, this means your material has been exposed to repeated standing water or flooding.

Get a Professional Water Damage Restoration Specialist

If you’re having water damage complications, Paul Davis’ professional team is here to help out. It’s critical to remedy any leaks in your home before the damage becomes serious. Our water damage repair experts can locate dripping pipes and repair your property back to normal conditions no matter how big or small the job is. Call us today at (301) 948-8008 and a local franchise is there to help out.