The Detrimental Effects Water Damage Can Have on Your Home

Water damage can occur in many ways. Spot a leak in your kitchen? Notice your rain gutters aren’t properly redirecting precipitation? Underlying problems due to water damage may be occurring.

Water damage can discolor, distort, and harm portions of your home.

Water damage can be a major contributor to a loss of property (like the entirety of your home), or loss of property (such as furniture), and even money.

The damage to your home may appear almost imperceptibly slowly like with small water leaks that cause damage over time. Or the damage may occur instantaneously like flooding (naturally or unnaturally).

There are three different types of water that you can recognize. First is clean water. Clean water is water that has come from a drinkable source like pipes to faucets or sinks.

Gray water is the second type of water that may leak into your home. Grey water is most likely not fatal. However, it still can harm you and may contain chemicals or other contaminants.

Blackwater, the third type of water, is fatal and could kill if it is ingested or touched.

Clean and grey water can harm furniture or other items in your home, but of the time they can be treated by professionals to restore them to their original state.

Wood furniture is particularly subject to water damage. Even the smallest of water leaks can cause wood to distort, become soft, and remove furnishes. Wood that has been sitting for days with water damage may not be salvageable.

This is why it is of utmost importance to call a professional immediately following the first signs of water damage. Upholstered furniture can also be tricky to restore, as water can cause mildew within the furniture.

However, once again, the sooner you call a trained professional, the quicker you will be able to save your furniture.

Furnaces can also be subjected to water damage. In the winter, make sure to elevate your furnace to decrease the probability of water damage.

You can pour concrete to make a concrete block under your furnace in cases of unfinished areas of your home. Or you can also build a wooden platform for your furnace to rest on. Try to build the platforms about 1.5 to 2 feet high.

You can also choose to install water sensors near your furnace to ensure your water situation is under control.

Even just a small 1/8 of an inch crack in a pipe can release over 250 gallons of water in one home per day.

According to the EPA that’s about 13.7% off all water “used” in the home. By checking your pipes on a set schedule, you could save 13.7% of your water bill.

Water can cause damage in pipes when water freezes and expands within them, or if water is leaking out of caulked areas or areas that should be sealed, but the sealing has broken.

If you fear that your furniture is water damaged, or your pipes are not functioning normally, call a restorative professional like Restore Rite to help assess the situation. They will be able to determine which category of water damage your problem concerns. Whether it be clean, grey, or black, it is essential that you get it taken care of as quickly as possible to ensure the damage done to your home and property is minimal.