Water Damage – How Old is it? – Discover by Taking These Steps

When you have backed-up bathtubs, toilets or sinks that overflow, it’s obvious that water damage restorations will be required. Nonetheless, your home can experience water damage in ways that aren’t as evident. Since you have pipes running all over your home, you can have a pipe leaking or a buildup of condensation between your ceilings and walls. It’s a difficult problem since this isn’t in view- you won’t recognize it until you have water damage, and then it’s difficult to define how long the issue has lingered.

For these spaces that aren’t visible, it’s difficult to check how old the water damage is. Nevertheless, you could have a pipe that’s been slightly leaking for awhile but because it’s not in plain sight, you don’t have a timeline. There’s no way to check the precise time of the problem, but there are some ways to estimate the age of the water damage.

Find Out the Lifetime of Your Water Damage

You can gain some insight on whether the damage caused by water is old or new by using these tips:

  • History of the House: An old home may already have some previous water damage, so it’s critical to keep track of what’s there and to note if the damage alters overtime. Keeping track of the weather is a great idea too, because if you have a a slow leak, it can take months for a water spot to surface. Taking note of your water spots and damages can save you lots of time when figuring out whether the damage caused from water is new or old.
  • History of the House: An old home may already have some previous water damage, so it’s critical to keep track of what’s there and to note if the damage alters overtime. Keeping track of the weather is a great idea too, because if you have a a slow leak, it can take months for a water spot to surface. Taking note of your water spots and damages can save you lots of time when figuring out whether the damage caused from water is new or old.
  • Touch the Spot: You can feel the spot- this will reveal a lot about the age of the water damage. A new spot will be wet but your drywall or ceiling will still be strong, while an old spot will be spongy and soft since your material would have absorbed a fair amount of moisture.
  • Look for Rings: Outlining rings around the damaged spot caused by water reveals age. Remember it like a tree- the more rings it has, the longer the water damage has been present. Color variations of the spot is also helpful because it indicates that the area leaks, dries, gets saturated, dries, so on and so forth. If it’s a new water spot, the area will be a single stain with zero rings around it.
  • Examine the Materials: It’s vital to know about the materials that comprise your walls or ceilings, because things such as tiles or thick paint can trap the water. When this is the case, even a small water spot can mean the accumulation of water has been remaining for a while.
  • Mold Inspection: If you find that bacteria is there, the damage caused by water has lingered for about two to three days.
  • Decay: Your material doesn’t typically deteriorate from the first occurrence of water damage. And if there has been deterioration, this indicates your material has been vulnerable to constant standing water or flooding.

Get Help from an Experienced Water Damage Restoration Contractor

For all your water damage restoration emergencies, reach out to Paul Davis. When there’s a pipe dripping that you can’t detect, it’s fundamental to call an expert. The professional team at Paul Davis has the know-how and response time required to maintain your home. To find a local franchise in your location, give us a call at (813) 984-2700 and we’ll get an expert to come help you out.