10 Telltale Signs of Water Damage
Because significant moisture in your home can quickly turn into a major problem, it’s important that you know the signs of water damage. Here are 10 of those telltale signs:
- Ceiling stains
- These look like brown or yellowish blotches on your ceiling. Your ceiling may also begin to sag.
- A musty smell or a humid feeling in the air
- Buckling, warping, sagging, or soft spots in your floor
- Paint or wallpaper that is peeling, blistering, or separating from the wall
- Walls can flex and warp if they’re holding a significant amount of moisture.
- Softened or discolored walls
- Unusual dripping or sloshing sounds
- Low water pressure
- Visible moisture or standing water
- Mold
- An usually high water bill
- This could indicate that you have a water leak somewhere.
What to Do if You Find Signs of Water Damage
Water damage should always be taken seriously. If it’s not properly taken care of, the moisture can lead to major issues that leave your home uninhabitable, such as mold, bacteria, wood rot, structural deterioration, bug infestation, and electrical damage.
To quickly and effectively remove moisture from your home, it’s wise to call a professional water damage restoration company. We can bring in heavy duty equipment, such as dehumidifiers, air movers, fans, air scrubbers, and antimicrobial sprays to dry out the space and prevent mold growth.
Before the pros arrive, you can get the drying process started by setting up fans, sucking up any standing water with a shop vac, laying down bath towels, and opening windows to help get air moving through the house.
If the water leak is severe, you’ll want to turn your main water valve off. Not sure where your valve is? It can usually be found in your basement nearest to the exterior wall that faces the street. If you don’t have a basement, it may be near your hot water heater or in your garage.
It’s wise to mark your main water valve shut-off with a tag so anyone in your home can find it quickly in case of emergency.
When Water Damage is Covered and When It’s Not
Depending on the cause of the water damage, your insurance company may cover the remediation and repair costs. Insurance companies typically cover septic, sump pump, plumbing and appliance failures. They may also cover roof leaks or ice dam damage. However, groundwater flooding or property neglect that leads to water damage is typically not covered.
The extent of water damage costs will depend on the extent of the water damage itself.
We have worked on severe cases where water damage was left untreated and the entire house needed to be brought down to the studs. In such cases, the remediation and rebuild could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. In less severe cases, such as one or two rooms that have water damage, your costs may only be in the tens of thousands.
The Bottom Line of Water Damage
Bottom line, water damage is expensive and a major headache, so you want to take preventative measures to avoid it. However, if you do come across signs of water damage in your home or business, don’t push off getting it taken care of. Call a professional for help right away.
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