Water Damage Causes Your Walls to Stay Wet

So the unthinkable has happened, you’ve had a water loss / water intrusion  at your house. While there are many possible causes (like a leaking rook, sewer backup, pipe leak, flood, washing machine overflow, an AC handler overflow or the kids blocking the drain on the tub and leaving the water on), you have a flooded house. The first logical question is “How do I know what is really affected by this water damage?”. You know your floors are wet, but is there hidden moisture in your walls that will shortly become a mold farm? Can you really be sure? Well… the following are possible solutions for you to consider:

    1. Look for a water line. If you have FLAT paint, water lines will be visible to the naked eye. If you have ANY other gloss (satin, eggshell, semi-gloss, hi-gloss, etc) you CANNOT use this method.
    1. Look for sagging paint. If it sags, it is wet.
    1. Look for trim that bows or has broken caulk lines. When wood gets wet, it expands. Expansion in wood trim or the studs below, will tend to make caulk lines break.
  1. Buy a Moisture meter from any of the following manufacturers and meter the walls yourself:
  2. OR – You can hire a licensed professional water damage restorer. These companies will have not only the moisture meters necessary to measure the moisture in the walls, but they should have thermal imaging cameras that can locate suspect areas very quickly and document them with photographic or video evidence. They will also have experienced, trained technicians that know how water behaves and know exactly WHERE to look for it.

We at NextGen Restoration stand ready to assist you in your time of need. Please click here to read more or feel free to contact us at 813-962-6855 and we will be happy to answer any of your questions.