Water damage can happen anywhere. No matter how strong of brick and cement your college or office building has used in their building process, water damage can make anything, and everything look bad. You might notice something damaging your walls as you are sitting at your desk. It is something you have never noticed before. The smudge of water is disturbing but you don’t know just how long it has been sitting there. So, how to tell if water damage is new or old?
The culprit – is it new or old?
Water affects different materials in different ways. If tiles, bricks or other hard materials are damaged by water, the damage may be delayed. It takes time to cause leakage with these materials. On the other hand, a small amount of water damage can quickly affect materials like drywall, parquet or carpet.
Drywalls, wooden floors and other soft materials can form a “ring” if they are damaged by water for a long time. Water is absorbed and the material is lost. The effect of this kind of water damage is similar to large and small water rings – and if you happen to have these on your walls, this means that the damage to the wall is old and been sitting there for quite a while.
On the other hand, the newly damaged areas may be wet but not soft to the touch. Since dry walls soften when damaged by water, there is time for water to absorb and destroy the integrity of the material. This means that water damage can take a long time to soften your walls. So, if you find water damage, but the walls aren’t soft to the touch – it is likely the damage is new and can be fixed easily. It is important to note that hard materials (such as tiles) will never soften.
It is another story if you see mold on your walls. Molds begin to grow within 24 to 48 hours after water damage. Increased mold growth may indicate that water damage is way older than the expected time which is (24 to 48 hours). So, it is better to keep an eye out for mold patches to indicate whether your water damage is old or new.
Let us handle your water damage:
One of the best ways to act quickly in the case of a natural disaster is to have the experts on hand so you can simply make the call once it occurs. You can do this by signing a pre-loss agreement with
Armor Environmental Solutions — Allowing us to act fast and helping your business get up and running ASAP.
Give us a call at 1-800-413-3070