How to Identify Water Damage in Your Home?

Identify Water Damage

Water damage costs homeowners thousands of dollars on average and can be very annoying to deal with. This damage can come from natural disasters like floods and hurricanes, but also from things like an overflowing washing machine or a pipe that burst. This water damage can hurt not only your home but also your health, if not addressed quickly.

While dealing with water damage often involves calling a Memphis water damage restoration company, you first need to be able to find and identify the damage. You might think that water damage in your home might be obvious, but that isn’t always the case. With that in mind, let’s go over a few helpful ways for identifying water damage in your home.

Check the Walls and Floors

Two of the places that will be the easiest to notice water damage are the walls and floors. When it comes to the walls and ceiling, you need to be on the lookout for water stains. They can be very prominent or hardly noticeable, depending on the amount of damage.

The walls could also be cracked, look a little swollen and potentially even be softer than a wall should be. When checking the floors for water damage, you should look for parts of the floor that are sagging or warping. Also, be careful to avoid walking on these sagged or warped parts of the floor, as it could potentially lead to even more damage. In order to keep your floors and walls safe, you can always reach out to college grove water damage restoration in order to remove excess water from the home and repairing the drywall and all the carpeting.

A Musty Odor

In addition to being able to see the damage, there is a very real possibility that you will be able to smell it. Water damage is often accompanied by a musty odor, which kind of smells like wet paper or cardboard. This will be the strongest in an area that is most damaged by the water. So if you smell something strong after a storm or even just out of the blue, it could be water damage that is to blame.

However, even if your home doesn’t smell, it doesn’t mean there is no water damage. Small amounts of water can still damage your home in many ways, but might not lead to any significant odor.

Also, your home is often full of other smells, so isolating this one can sometimes prove difficult. Even if you only faintly smell the musty odor that goes along with water damage, it is better to check your home or call an expert than to just ignore it and hope it goes away.

Open Your Ears

Another way to potentially identify water damage in your home is by opening your ears. While our houses are usually full of noise with the dishwasher going, kids screaming or dogs barking, there are some peaceful and quiet times. In addition to using these times to relax, you should also use them to listen for unexplained sounds in your home.

When listening for the presence of water damage, it makes sense to keep an ear out for dripping sounds. These can be a telltale sign of a leak. However, water sounds can also be vastly different and sometimes can sound like rustling or scratching. If you hear any noises that seem to be unusual or out of place, be sure to investigate them further. Of course, not all water damage will be caused by leaks or burst pipes, so the sound isn’t always the end-all-be-all sign of water damage.

In conclusion, the information in this article will help you notice water damage as soon as possible, so you can get it dealt with. Even if you don’t notice any signs, it can be worthwhile to inspect your house every now and then to check.