Water damage in your home is like rust on your car-catastrophic. It’s something that you would like to prevent, but if it does happen, you want it taken care of quickly. Here is a list of signs to watch out for to catch water damage before it gets out of hand.
Shape Shifting:
Or rather your walls and floors are changing shapes. Water damage signs are easy to spot with carpet. There will be stains with no apparent cause or the carpet will still be damp. With tile, it may become loose in areas. Linoleum will begin to peel, and wood or laminate floors will begin to warp, generally called buckling. This will occur when water accumulates in your sub-flooring, which is generally a sign that your foundation is saturated. The water has no way to escape, and it will begin to affect your flooring. In severe cases, water may permeate through your flooring and sit on the surface.
Smell
Sometimes you have to rely on senses other than sight or touch to detect water damage. Dampness has a very distinct odor and this might also be accompanied by the musky smell of mold. Musty smells almost always suggest the presence of water damage or mold growth. Look out for smells in conjunction with other indicators of water damage. The smell will be strongest around the area where the water damage has occurred.
Coldness
If your home is very difficult to heat, then this might be a sign that you have dampness affecting your walls. Water and moisture will often draw heat out of walls in order to evaporate and this in turn, leaves those walls and the property overall much colder.
Discoloration
Discoloration is another sign of water damage. In particularly look for ‘streaks’ of water that are running down the side of your home. This can sometimes be a sign of an overflowing gutter, which will result in watermarks that are quite distinctive and show where the water has traveled down the wall. Mold spotting generally manifests itself as black, brown, or green marks that appear in small patches. In the event that you see something you believe may be mold, you need to treat it immediately.
Your Utility Bills Don’t Match Your Water Usage
Your bills have started climbing even though your water usage hasn’t changed? That can be a sign that something sinister might be going on. Walk around the outside of your house and inside, anywhere the house runs and listen! Depending on the jump in the bill you can have a significant leak that you can probably hear. If you see any leaks or notice any excess moisture on or around your pipes, your home is bleeding water. Fix the problem and check for additional signs of damage around the areas where you’ve found faulty pipes.
Water can wreak havoc, but if caught early enough you can forego most of the lasting damage.
