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If you believe that your property has water damage, it is important to act quickly. Water damage and flooding in your home can be disruptive, expensive, and traumatic if not caught early enough. If you ignore the signs of water damage, you are putting the walls, ceilings, floors, and furnishings in your property at risk and may face expensive restoration for water damage bills once you deal with the issue.
It is best to be proactive when dealing with signs of water damage to keep costs as low as possible and prevent unnecessary damage to your property. You should be vigilant and call in a professional water damage repairs service to prevent further cost and disruption further down the line.
The best way to limit water damage is to catch signs of dampness and flooding early. You should also make sure to carry out regular checks and maintenance of your home to prevent some of the most common causes of damage. Below we will look at the top 5 signs of water damage and what property owners need to do to prevent the need for restoration from water damage in the future.
What are the top 5 signs of water damage?
- Dampness and Discoloration of Walls and Water Damage on Ceilings
One of the first signs that will appear is staining on your walls and water damage on ceilings as they become affected by dampness. This can show up when wallpaper begins to peel or show stains. Paint work on the walls and ceilings can begin to show darker or brown patches which also indicate the presence of dampness in your home. You might also notice paint work begins to chip or even bubble when dampened and wet.
If you notice water damage on ceilings or on the interior walls of your house, you should contact a specialist immediately so that the source of the dampness can be repaired. This will help you avoid costly damage to the electrical systems and floors within your home.
- Patches of mold on your interior walls
Another early sign that your home has water damage is if you notice the growth of dark-colored mold on the interior walls of your home and basement. You might notice this in the corners of rooms at the start, but if left it will begin to grow. If your walls are damp and your home humid, this can allow mold to grow quite quickly around the property.
Simply wiping away the problem will not be a solution as the walls will still be damp and the mold will come back. To make sure the problem is corrected you should contact a professional as soon as possible.
- Damp carpets and wet floors
As well as the walls of your home, the floors can also show signs of water damage which you should look out for. The most obvious is if your carpets are damp and the floorboards are wet or becoming warped. Both effects can come about when water is leaking beneath the floor.
If you suspect there may be something wrong with the floors, you should try walking on the area without shoes or socks, you will be able to immediately tell if there is dampness or wetness in the area.
If your floors are wet, you must get the cause looked at by professionals as quickly as possible to prevent further costly and disruptive damage to your property.
- Damp, Musty Smell In your Home
If your house has started to develop a damp smell that you can’t get rid of no matter what your try, this may be an indication that your home has water damage that you can’t yet see. You should explore your property and see where the smell seems to be strongest. This may help you to pinpoint where the damp problem is and whether it is in your walls, floors, or maybe even in your ceiling,
The quicker you manage to catch the problem of water damage in your home, the easier it will be to repair, and the less damage will be caused to your property overall.
- Are your utility bills rising?
If you have noticed a rise in your water bills will not increase in your usage, you should consider whether there may be a water leak on your property. A pipe may be leaking water into your home behind the walls, increasing your water consumption, and causing damage to your building and electrics.
If you think this might be the case you should check your floors, ceiling, and walls for any of the signs detailed above. You should also check the outside of your property for signs of water stains or damp patches, and damage to your guttering or roof. Then head to your basement and attic to check for any signs of flooding or damage there.
Catching and repairing a water leak as soon as possible is essential if you want to limit the repair costs and avoid as much disruption to your home as possible.
How to prevent water damage to your home
There are some steps you can take to make sure that you prevent or limit water damage to your property. These include:
- Do regular checks
Now that you know which signs you should be looking out for, you should make sure to check your home for signs of water damage regularly. Spotting a problem early will save you money and the long-term disruption of more involved water damage repairs.
- Make sure your gutters and drains are regularly cleared
Keep on top of clearing out your drains and unclogging your gutters. This is the best way to ensure that water safely flows away from your roof, walls, and foundations and doesn’t start to become blocked up on your property.
- Make sure you know how to turn off your water supply
If you realize you have a leak, quickly taking steps to turn off the water supply is one of the first things you need to do. Make sure you know where the stopcock is on your property and that you know how to switch it off in case of an emergency.
- Check the condition of your roof
One of the main ways water will enter your property will be if your roof is damaged, so regularly checking the condition of your roof and repairing any damage quickly is paramount. If your roof is accessible by ladder and you can safely check the positioning and conditioning of tiles you should make sure to do so or hire a professional service if not.
You can also go up to your attic to check for signs of damage inside. If you can see strong streams of sunlight or feel strong drafts while you are there, these may be signs that your roof may need some maintenance.
- Call in repair professionals for restoration for water damage
However, as tempting as it may be to do your DIY water damage repairs in your home, unless you know what you are doing, you may just end up costing yourself more money in the long run.
Poorly repaired pipes can end up cracking or bursting open even further causing more damage than they would have done had the problem been dealt with correctly the first time around. Damp, rotting walls and floors can also sustain further damage down the line.
Water damage repairs services will also be experts at spotting other sources of leakage which you may not have been able to spot yourself and repairing the causes of damage rather than just the results.
Last week, I helped my older sister move some boxes to her basement, and I noticed a few mold traces around its walls. It really helped when you explained ways we’d identify water damage in our house before it’s too late, so I’ll call my sister right now and suggest she finds a specialist to take a look at her house. I appreciate your intake on water damage and how it causes damp walls.
Greetings! Very helpful advice within this article! It is the little changes that will make the most significant changes. Thanks a lot for sharing!