6 Warning Signs You Have Water Damage in Your House – 2024 Guide
Without any doubt, water can be a direct cause for some of the most extensive damage your home has ever experienced. As you can presume, the prevention of these problems is key. But we can see that the habits of people are somewhat different. According to the survey conducted by Divinity Inspection Service, we can see that around 90% of Americans believe that home inspection is an absolute must before a family moves into it.
However, we can see that the highest percentage of these Americans fail to do it. How do we know it? Well, if you can see that damage inflicted by a wide array of different factors is directly caused by the lack of attention people pay to it. There are a lot of different things that can be damaged with water, from your home’s resale value to your family’s health. Therefore, you need to do everything in your power to prevent these problems from happening.
Many people are not aware that there are a lot of different things you can do in order to prevent this kind of problem completely. However, it should be said that you cannot know what you need to do before you take a look at some of the signs that you actually have a problem with water leaks. They can be numerous, and some of them can say how urgent your situation really is. Some of these problems you can fix by yourself, and for others, you will need to hire professionals.
In case you are in need of flooded basement cleanup, you should take a look at some of the companies online. But, before you do that, you need to check what is the problem and see if you can fix it. Therefore, we would like to provide you with a couple of warning signs that you have water damage in your house. Without further ado, let’s talk about it.
1. Stains on the Ceiling
It goes without saying that the most obvious sign that you have a problem with water leaking in your home are stains on the ceiling. Surely, you can expect that this thing can be a major reason for the dropping in the price of your home. We are sure that you’ve seen one of these stains at least once during your lifetime. They are round, and they have that, let’s say, uncomfortable yellow color. The damage is imminent, meaning that you will need to paint your ceiling due to this occurrence. In some cases, stains are not a sign of a major problem. However, it needs to be inspected by a professional.
2. Wood Deterioration
One of the first signs that will tell you that you have a water damage problem in your home is wood that deteriorates. In order to spot this symptom, you need to take a look at wood placed around doors and windows. Its needless to say that it deteriorates due to the contact that it has with water. At the same time, you need to take a look at the baseboards. If there is any kind of problem with the wood in your home, this is the place where you will spot it easily. It should be said that the commonest ways water comes into your home are pipe leaks and the water that comes as a result of storms.
3. Mold Everywhere
When we are talking about more subtle ways to see that water damage is in your home, it would be pretty important to mention mold. Not that we are talking about something that can’t be seen easily. It’s that it forms in the areas in your home where you will not check frequently, like the caulk, baseboards, and the wall behind furniture. It should be said that seeing mold in areas like the basement, and bathroom, doesn’t necessarily mean that you have water damage in your home. However, in any other case, you need to call professionals to inspect it. Chances are that you have some damage after all.
4. Running Water Sounds
It should be said that water going through your home is not always visible. In fact, it’s not visible most of the time. The only time you will be able to see it is when it manifests in some of the symptoms, we are talking about in this article of ours. However, that doesn’t mean that you will not be able to hear it once in a while. When you have the opportunity to hear these sounds constantly, this is one of the symptoms that might say you have a really big problem in your hands. The noise depends on the flow of water, as you can presume.
5. Discoloration
Many people don’t know that water damage is manifested by the change of color in wall paint and carpeting. The reason is that the mold and water can form a whole area of dark spots on walls and carpets. Therefore, you will witness the change of color immediately, due to these color changes. As soon as you spot these kinds of changes, you need to inspect them and prevent further damage. In some cases, these color changes can be so little that they cannot be spotted at any moment. So, you need to be pretty thorough when it comes to these changes. You will not be able to spot all of them, you can be sure of that.
6. Higher Water Bills
In the end, we would like to talk about one of the first symptoms that can say that you have a problem with water damage. We are talking about unusually high water bills. Whenever you suspect that there are some unusual changes, compare the newest ones to the older ones and see if there is any actual change. You should inspect all the features and devices in your home that need water in order to run. See, if there are any problems with the connections. At the same time, you should inspect the pipes in your home and see if there are any leaks.
