Know Where The Hidden Water Damage Is

A free article on Home and Family

By: Gayelord Nash

If you always thought that all water damage that occurs is from floods, then you definitely are wrong. Water damage may occur anywhere, anyhow that too without you or anyone knowing. This water damage is never of a high scale but they are enough to cause damages that might turn out to be complex enough in the long run.

Wondering what sort of water damage can occur without anyone knowing about it? Let's take the example of my neighbor, Mr. Wilson. A water pipe had burst inside a concrete slab foundation in his basement and he did not even know it for about 2 days. Thanks to Mrs. Wilson who one day felt the floor unusually warm and then informed some water damage restoration company. The pipe was a hot water one, had it been a cold water pipe things could have been much more serious. Had it been a few days more the surrounding area would have cracked, cabinets would have damaged; which would have meant a much higher expenditure for Mr. Wilson.

This is one of the types of hidden water damage, I agree that finding and locating them is tough; but it is not impossible. There are various problems that happen due to hidden water damage like growth of molds, soaking of carpets and decay of various items that are nearby the water damaged area.

If you thought that water damage hidden in nature can only occur in places where damages are not visible, then you got it wrong. Many houses have roof leaks; people think them to be minor enough. These small roof leaks are enough to damage the complete structure of your house on the larger scale and for the time being they would simply make there presence felt by making sure that the insulations in your house is of no use!

Another major place where water damage occurs and goes unnoticed is in the toilets. People generally think that water is bound to flow in toilets, but the truth is that this water would damage your house badly enough to make you reconstruct your house if not taken care of. It is generally advisable to get experts to check some of the areas of the house regularly like toilets, roof, and basements, different areas of plumbing like sinks, even refrigerators should be checked for water damage. Since the amount that needs to be spent for inspection is far lower than that of restoring all the damages.

By now you must be well aware of the various problems that hidden water damages may actually do and various areas in which hidden water damage may occur, but we should also know a few ways by which we can suspect water damages just like Mrs. Wilson did. In the following section we would take you through some of the points that would help you identify hidden water damage.

- Check if your walls have peeling of wallpapers, paints. If 'Yes', you should check if there is a pipe inside the wall; it can mean that your pipe has a leakage.
- If you find musty odor or moisture in the room, then you can suspect water damage, as the environment in room or house becomes such when there is a water leakage.
- Do you find your floor too cold or hot? Get rid of your sock and walk bare foot on that area, if you get a wet feeling then there must be some water leak in a slab beneath.

It is true that getting to know of these hidden water damages is not that simple, but if you stay alert then you may easily identify these water damages. Have an expert working for you when you find the damage, as it eliminates the chances of further damage and also cuts down your expenditure.