If your house ever suffers water intrusion, prompt clean-up, structural drying, and water damage restoration are crucial for preserving your health and the structural integrity of your home. Although it’s easy to assume a minor leak isn’t much to worry about, even a small amount of water can result in considerable damage if you leave the affected area untreated.
What might you be up against if you choose to let water damage sit? Read on to find out.
Structural Deterioration
Depending on the location of the leak or flooding, even a relatively small amount of water can do quite a bit of damage to the structural components of your home. If you have a wood frame house, water-soaked beams and framing may develop rot when left untreated. This gradual decomposition can seriously weaken them and ultimately, negatively impact the structural integrity of your house.
Other critical components of your house that can suffer serious damage when you fail to treat water damage include:
● Ceilings
● Flooring
● Subfloors
Given the serious problems water can cause, it’s in your best interest to contact a water damage restoration specialist if your house suffers any degree of water intrusion. Even if it’s just a minor leak, getting an inspection will allow you to handle any necessary repairs before you have a serious issue on your hands.
Electrical System Damage
You know water and electricity don’t mix, right? If your home suffers a leak or flooding and you fail to address the water-soaked areas, you could have a potentially dangerous wiring problem on your hands.
Over time, excess moisture within your walls can cause shorts in your electrical system or may even damage circuits. Prompt water damage restoration will allow you to avoid developing a serious fire hazard you may not even be aware of until it’s too late.
Severe Mold Infestation
Once wet, a surface can develop mold within 24-48 hours. If water ever finds its way inside your home — whether it’s due to a plumbing leak, a flood, or severe storm damage to your roof — a mold infestation won’t be far behind unless you handle water damage restoration immediately.
Mold can seriously lower the value of your home, and if you ever plan to sell, your house won’t pass a pre-purchase inspection if it fails a mold test. Worse, mold remediation can be incredibly expensive if there’s a major infestation. As such, it’s in your best interest to address any degree of water intrusion as soon as you possibly can.
Lower Your Home’s Value
One of the main concerns about water damage is that it can reduce the value of your home. If you have areas that are untreated, it's not only hard to cover up, but if you choose to sell your home, an inspector will be able to note if it has not been properly repaired. This means that any potential buyers are going to offer you less money than what your home is worth or may choose not to purchase the house at all.
In most cases, it will be an a better return of investment to repair the water damage before listing the home to sell. It may be more expensive to have water restoration, but you can recoup this from the sale of the house.
Carpet Breakdown
The carpet is another item that suffers from water and flood damage, and it can only handle so much. Carpets are not meant to stay continually saturated, and leaving the damage untreated can cause them to break down. This will directly affect the padding in addition to any subfloors and can turn into a much larger problem if toxins begin to grow in the fibers.
Wall Damage
The walls are a central part of the structural integrity of your home, and because wood reacts like a sponge, this is a significant concern when water damage is left untreated. Because of its absorbency, the longer you wait to get the clean-up done, the faster it will spread through the hole resulting in buckling and warping.
Painting over the damage is not going to fix the problem, and in most cases, it will require replacing the damaged areas. If the water damage is left unchecked for too long, it can affect the home's structure, cause dangerous mold build-up, and turn into a hazard that can make the house unlivable.
Plumbing Corrosion
If your plumbing system features metal pipes and one of them develops a leak, that excess moisture can corrode the pipe over time. Since corrosion tends to make existing leaks more severe, eventually, you could have a serious plumbing problem on your hands. In a worst-case scenario, a major leak could develop and end up flooding a portion of your home.
Get Premium Quality Water Damage Restoration Service in the Twin Cities
If your home recently suffered any type of flooding or other water damage, prompt remediation is crucial for your health and safety. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team at Kiser Construction to get top-notch water removal, structural drying, restoration, and reconstruction services. We offer 24/7 emergency service and can help you file your insurance claim from start to finish.
To get started, give us a call today at 763-633-2010 or contact us online and we’ll be in touch. If you need emergency service, please reach out to our 24/7 emergency line at 612-518-8852.