Where To Look For Signs Of Hidden Water Intrusion
Unaddressed hidden water intrusion can wreak havoc on your South Jersey property. It has the potential to greatly diminish the structural integrity of your home, causing major damage & creating the potential for mold development. Unfortunately, it is not always obvious that your home is experiencing water intrusion until it has been going on for quite some time. Leaks & water intrusion is often hidden by building materials and homeowners are unable to detect it until the damage is severe. Water easily seeps into wall voids, underneath flooring, beneath furniture & behind other building materials that you may not always be checking on. This is why it is so important for South Jersey homeowners to be educated on how to identify hidden water intrusion in their homes. Let’s take a closer look at some of the telltale signs of hidden water intrusion in a property.
Signs To Look Out For
- Staining: Dark staining on building materials such as wood, drywall, floors & ceilings is a huge indicator of a water intrusion issue. When water damage becomes so severe that it is seeping through the structure of your home, there is a serious problem on your hands.
- Damage To Wall Finishes: As moisture begins to build up in your home’s wall or ceiling voids, it can saturate the porous building materials. This causes the moisture to compromise the adhesion of your wall finishes. This can cause paint or wallpaper to peel, bubble, crack or even chip.
- Swelling: As the water saturates your home’s building materials, these porous surfaces will begin to swell & cause separation of adjacent surfaces. Areas where this often takes place include your baseboards or trim & doorways. Check these areas for separation. It can sometimes be difficult to see, so another way to identify if swelling has taken place is if a door is having a difficult time opening & closing.
- Sagging Ceilings: Hidden water intrusion can put a great deal of pressure on your home’s ceilings. Eventually, oversaturated drywall or wood will begin to sag & become deformed due to the weight of the water. This can pose a major safety hazard if these ceilings were to collapse. Pay close attention if your ceilings are beginning to sag.
- Visible Signs Of Mold: Mold visibly presents itself in a variety of ways. Some examples of this include seeing fuzzy or powdery substances on walls & ceilings, which can be seen in a vast array of colors including black, white, grey, brown, green & many others. Mold often forms in clusters, so keep an eye out for blotches of discoloration or suspicious textures. When looking for mold in your home, you may need to get creative with your angles. Mold is not always directly visible in every angle. When it comes to hidden water intrusion & mold, one can not exist without the other. There is always a moisture source behind every mold issue. Eradicating the source of moisture will ensure that mold doesn’t find its way back into your home after it has been removed.
- Suspicious Odors: Hidden water intrusion can easily create an ideal breeding ground for mold to develop. This produces a distinct musty odor. Mold can not survive without a water source, so if you are detecting signs of mold in your home, it is a huge indicator of underlying hidden water intrusion.
- Signs Of Mold: Mold can begin to grow in as little as 24-48 hours with an adequate moisture source. If you suspect hidden water intrusion in your South Jersey home is causing mold to develop, contact a local mold remediation company in your area for help.
Discovering hidden water intrusion in your South Jersey home can lead to the discovery of a variety of issues & repairs that you will need to take care of. Identifying and eradicating the source of the water damage should be your number one priority in this situation. Building materials that are overly saturated with water will oftentimes be too damaged to repair, so they need to be properly removed. Any salvageable affected areas will be in need of professional structural dry out services. If your home has suffered from water damage & mold has developed as a result, don’t hesitate to contact a local professional mold remediation company in your South Jersey area. Professional mold inspectors & technicians will be able to restore your home to pre-damage conditions promptly and efficiently.
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