What problems can water damage cause?

Water Damage Causes and Consequences

Some of the most common causes of water damage include floods, over-flown sinks and bathtubs, broken or poorly installed pipes, heavy rainfall, and leaking pipes and sinks. Even indoor activities like laundry and cooking can significantly raise moisture levels and lead to water damage.

Regardless of the amount of damage that occurs, it’s essential to find the root of the moisture problem and have repairs done quickly to avoid further damage.

By repairing moisture damages fast, you’ll avoid further issues, including mold, mildew, and dust mites, from taking up space in your home. Repairing water damage quickly can also help protect your family from allergens and future health problems.

How Quickly Does Water Damage Progress?

Even a seemingly harmless small leak can be problematic. Water spreads rapidly and absorbs into floors, walls, soft furnishings, and more. If you leave water damage too long, your insurance may not cover it, and the cost of water damage to your home could be hefty.

What Causes Water Damage?

There are a whole lot of issues that cause water damage, some sudden and some over time. Here is a list.

• Flooding of any kind. 

• Inclement weather, especially if you have small cracks in the roof or if severe winds blow out a window or a related fixture. 

• Leaks of any kind. These are especially dangerous as the leaks often occur behind the walls, leading to copious damage before it is noticed. Common leak sources include rusty and corroded pipes, high water pressure, extreme temperatures, broken water connectors, and more. 

• Sewage back up coming from your pipes and pouring out through your water fixtures.

• Clogged gutters clog up the drains over time, leading to water damage. 

• Faulty or malfunctioning appliances like washing machines, dishwasher, and air conditioners.  

Before that, let's first understand what losses the water damage will bring us？

Water intruding where it will enable attack of a material or system by destructive processes such as rotting of wood, mold growth, bacteria growth, rusting of steel, swelling of composite woods, de-laminating of materials such as plywood, short-circuiting of electrical devices, etc.

Your home will experience growth and spread of mold and mildew. The doors, windows, and wood flooring may swell and warp, and metal may begin to rust and corrode. At the same time, there is a possibility of serious biohazard contamination.

Steps To Repairing Water Damage

Find the Source

The first thing you need to do immediately after you see standing water in any area of your house is to find the source of the water. To prevent further damage to your house and belongings, you should stop the water immediately. This may mean turning off all the water to your home or calling a professional right away. Stopping additional water entering your home is always the first step.

Take Care of Your Home

To prevent further damage to your home, you need to take preventative steps to your house and your belongings. You should turn off the power in your home because if water gets into the outlets or reaches exposed wires, it could turn your home into a catastrophe. In addition, you will want to take all of your valuables to an area of the home that was not exposed to water or to a friend or family's house until your home is restored.

Call Your Insurance Company

Once you have the situation under control and your home is no longer in immediate danger, you should contact your insurance company. Get the quote started so that you have an idea of what will and will not be covered. Ask them for companies that they may have contracts with to help you in your process. Be sure to take pictures of everything so that there is no question later about what was damaged or not.

Start Repairing Water Damage

Water in the home can cause some of the most severe damage possible. Start the repairs as soon you can to prevent mold and structural damage to the home. You should contact a water damage restoration company to help you clean and repair your home properly. Professional companies have the experience necessary to fix the water damage issue and look for mold and other hazardous issues.

Dry Your Home

You need to start drying out your home as soon as possible. This means removing water and using fans to get rid of the humidity present in the home. You can use a variety of different equipment like a wet-vac or dehumidifiers to help. You can choose the industrial dehumidifier you need from Aptook.com. You should let the fans run for a few days to remove all humidity and help get your home back to normal. 

Look for Mold

Mold only takes about 24 hours to grow. If your home is not dried out and repaired in this amount of time, you are risking exposure to mold. You should thoroughly inspect your house for mold in the carpets, walls, drywall, flooring and more. 

Moving Back In

During the entire repair and remediation process, you will likely need to stay at a hotel or with family and friends. It may take a few weeks to get your home back to normal. Try not to live or move back into your home until it has thoroughly been inspected for mold or structural damage. Once you are given the 'all clear' you can move back in.

Solutions for Water Damage Restoration

Water damage is frustrating in itself; however, it can lead to much worse problems if not handled immediately and properly. Aptook features a series of dehumidification products, each built with different capacities, offering a range of abilities to meet your unique needs.

Drying speed is crucial when it comes to repairs. We recommend deploying a refrigeration or absorption drying dehumidifier to achieve the fastest and best results. Refrigeration and absorption dehumidifiers are ideal for nearly any space as they can remain operational even at very low temperatures.

Dehumidifiers efficiently extract excess moisture in the air and recirculate dry air back into the room. And, until the space is completely dry and free from excess moisture and humidity, dehumidifiers will repeat the air-drying process. Air circulation is also helpful, so adding fans and ventilators into a space that needs drying can help speed things up.