Water Damage And The Extent Of Its Destruction

When one encounters water damage, one can expect the destruction to be extensive. The extent can be widespread, not only in terms of the physical area covered, but also in the duration of time that it will take for it to be fully addressed. There are several ways that this can happen to a home, a building or any other structure. The intrusion of this element can occur due to seepage from external or internal sources. There are different categories that can be applied to the quality of the element that can intrude and destroy a structure. These are categorized from 1 up to 3, starting with the intrusion of veritably clean liquid possibly coming from a broken water pipe or an overflowing sink. The second category involves liquid that may have been contaminated with substances that can cause minor discomfort and reactions to people, such as those from the toilet bowl (urine, no feces) or the washing machine. The third category of fluids is the one that comes from the most unsanitary sources such as sewers, contaminated rivers and streams and other similar sources.

Destruction

Most of the time, water damage to homes and buildings is caused by category 1 and 2 types. Homeowners usually just clean up their houses and replace what has been visibly damaged by the flooding. The replacement is usually done immediately after the destruction has been seen and felt but there can be a lot of unseen trauma that can happen even after seepage of fluids and liquid. Mold is one of the foremost concerns that a person should have regarding structures that have experienced even slight water damage at some point in time. Under the right circumstances, mold can grow and be potentially dangerous to humans and other living things. Many of the organic materials that have been exposed to a lot of moisture during the flooding or the intrusion of fluid have the potential to foster mold growth. These growths will start as dark spots and then populate the organic matter as long as the environment is right. The extent of mold population and destruction can be immense in the sense that it can grow for many years without being detected unless experts are called in to specifically look for them. They can destroy wood, paper, fabric and other organic material slowly but surely. They also have the potential to be lethal to people.

Wood rot and rust are also other things that you can attribute to water damage. Wooden materials that may have been soaked thoroughly during the flood can rot more easily than those that have not been exposed to moisture. Iron and other metals can also react to the exposure negatively. These will be apparent just a few days after the exposure and can be easily corrected or replaced if the need arises. Some furniture can also be soaked and may need to be reupholstered. Other wooden materials that are laminates may also need to be replaced or laminated again if they peel off.