When you notice water damage in your home, it’s important to take action immediately. While it might just seem like you have some discoloration, damage can leave behind far more than your eyes notice at first sight. Take a look at some of these ways that water can affect your home negatively.
Structural Damage
One of the most common elements of damage from water is damage to the structure. Your structure includes anything that creates the framework or supporting features of your property. For example, the roof, walls, and floor can all be lumped into this category.
Things like framework around the walls can experience rot from water. Insulation, drywall, and other materials can all be ruined or rotted from water as well. This doesn’t even get into the details about potential mold. We will talk about that in a moment.
No matter what type of materials are in your structure, they can be affected by water and potentially even impact your safety.
Personal Belongings
When water damage strikes, your personal belongings can also be affected. This can be anything from your large furniture to your curtains to collectibles and even toys and clothing. How damaged these items are will depend on the water and the extent of the damage. You will find that some things can be cleaned, restored, and saved. However, there will also be items that cannot be salvaged.
With any luck, you won’t have to toss out any family heirlooms, but just be aware that water can cause irreparable damage to just about anything if given the opportunity. Some companies offer a pack-out process in which they will work to restore personal items as much as possible.
Mold Risks
One of the things that people often don’t realize is how quickly mold can grow. You might think that it will take weeks or months for mold to be a risk, but this actually isn’t true. If mold spores are present and the environment is right, it can begin to grow within the first 24 hours of water damage.
This is one reason you need to take immediate action when you notice or experience water damage. The longer you leave the damage untreated, the more susceptible it is to mold, which will only make your problems worse.
Health Risks
At times, there could be health risks related to the water that has damaged your structure. This is true if mold begins to grow, but also true depending on the type of water. Clean water will likely not cause health risks unless it comes into contact with something risky.
However, damages caused by sewage, floodwater, and other unclean water sources could be a risk to your health. These need to be handled very carefully and with every bit of safety in mind to prevent exposure to harmful bacteria and toxins.
Call in the Professionals
When you experience water damage at your home or business, you need to get a professional in fast to get it taken care of. Don’t risk the health of your home or family. Semper Fi Floor Care & Restoration is here to help. Our teams are skilled in taking care of damage from water and other sources as well. Let us help get your home safe again.
