While water leaks are the actual problem, it is water damage that should be your prime concern. The effects of leakage are never good. They are often devastating, dangerous, a threat to your safety. And the worse part is that some water leaks are hidden. You can’t tell there’s a problem until it’s too late. No wonder looking for telltale signs is truly essential.
Even a confined water leak may lead to a disaster, restoration expenses, and great headaches. Now, our objective here is not to see how to spot water leaks, although this is the beginning of the solution to what could be a small or huge nightmare. We only assume that you have already detected a problematic area. The question now is what to do.
Before water damage restoration, call a plumber
Even if there’s already considerable water damage, you need to remedy the source of the problem first before you restore the ruins it left behind. And our advice would be not to do it alone.
Let us give you a simple example. In theory, replacing the leaky kitchen faucet sounds easy. Nothing more than removing the old one and installing the new one, right? Well, that’s how it goes. And chances are high, you will do it right. But if not, it’ll be a nightmare. If some plumbing parts are rusty and cannot be removed, water will be sprinkling your kitchen, filling the floor with water, in no time. Before you know it, you won’t need only a plumber but complete rebuild and repair services.
So, step number one is to find a plumber to detect the entire problematic area and do the required repairs.
Then, what? Do you need some water damage restoration or not?
When the leak is addressed, there’s always the question of whether or not you should call a water damage restoration company. It all depends on the extent of damage. And how early you detected the water leak. If we are talking about a faucet dripping water, you may need no more than to clean up the space. But if the leak was not detected in time before it spread – and that’s usually when it starts outside or when it is underground, then the chances are high, you will need much more than a simple water damage clean up.
Water damages structures and health
A water leak here may travel over there very, very quickly. In its path, water damages. It causes saturation and, due to the increased humidity and often warmth, it also triggers mold growth. For starters, stagnant water, pools of water hidden under the floor – for example, and, certainly, mold contaminate the air and all surfaces, causing serious health problems too.
And so, you have three serious problems on your hands: mold, structural weakening, possible health issues.
Assuming that you have already dealt with the water leak, your next task is to find a water damage restoration team. The damage water caused must be addressed before anything else.
Then, you will need mold remediation and the integrity of the structure checked. If water has already caused damage to essential elements of the building’s foundations, this has priority to avoid worse surprises. But making sure mold is removed and the contaminated areas are perfectly cleaned up is also extremely important, just for your health alone.
And don’t forget to make sure all parts of the house are checked – around the affected area. Drywall, for example, may be damaged. Carpets may be soaked, at least in some spots. Don’t take chances. If some items and parts of the house cannot be completely dried and free of contaminants, mold included, better toss them than take risks.
