How to Tell if Water Damage is Old or New

One of the more persistent problems a property can experience is water damage. As water damage restoration professionals, Paul Davis recognize the complications that water damage produces, especially when it isn’t in sight. Your house has pipes everywhere, including the inside of your ceilings and walls. If these pipes leak or have condensation on them, they can slowly wear out your ceiling or walls. One of the more hard aspects to this is finding out whether or not the water damage is old or new.

For these spaces that aren’t visible, it’s complicated to verify how old or new the water damage is. After all, you could have a pipe that’s been slightly leaking for a period of time but because it’s not in plain sight, you don’t have a timeline. There’s no sure way to indicate the precise time of the problem, but there are some approaches to estimate the age of the water damage.

Tips On Damage Generated by Water – Learn about its Time Frame

By taking the step-by-step process listed below, you can find out the age of the damage produced by water:

  • History of the House: If your residence has any spots from water damage, it’s essential to keep a record of them when finding out whether damage provoked from water is old or new. Additionally, you’ll want to be cognizant of any weather that could bring hidden water damage to the surface like heavy rain. Know your property, since modest leaks can take awhile to appear, and if you know what’s old and what’s new, you’ll be able to identify your problem faster.
  • History of the House: If your residence has any spots from water damage, it’s essential to keep a record of them when finding out whether damage provoked from water is old or new. Additionally, you’ll want to be cognizant of any weather that could bring hidden water damage to the surface like heavy rain. Know your property, since modest leaks can take awhile to appear, and if you know what’s old and what’s new, you’ll be able to identify your problem faster.
  • Touch the Spot: If the water spot is old, it will be spongy and squishy since during the time of the water leak, your ceiling or drywall has taken in a good amount of water. A newer spot will feel wet but the area won’t be soft to the touch.
  • Look for Rings: Outlining rings around your water damage spot reveals its age. Consider it like a tree- the more rings it has, the longer the water damage has been around. Discoloration of the blemish is useful since it reveals that the area gets soaked, dries, leaks, dries, etc. If it’s a brand new spot produced by water, the area will be a single blemish with zero rings.
  • Examine the Materials: Materials such as tiles and thick paint can actually trap water and moisture, so when you have a spot caused by water leaking through one of these, this can mean there’s been a buildup of water for a period of time. Knowing the materials can help you focus on your water damage issues more effectively.
  • Mold Inspection: If you find that bacteria is there, the damage generated by water has been there for approximately two to three days.
  • Deterioration: If your materials decay from water damage, this is usually the consequence of regular flooding or standing water. Deterioration usually doesn’t occur from the first instance of a leak.

Water Damage Repair Contractors – Get in Touch with Paul Today

The intensity of the damage generated by water doesn’t matter, Paul Davis is here to assist. Our team of experienced water damage repair contractors can fix the problem and have your residence in a good state. Remedy the issue today before it gets in a worse condition and reach out to us at (267) 202-6470 for a local franchise near your location.