Understanding How Water Damages Your Possessions

When you have a water damage emergency, its important to call DryPatrol immediately – and here’s why:

Within Minutes

Within minutes of the initial water leak, contamination will spread to additional areas of the room and your structure. Stains released from saturated furniture will stain the carpets permanently, and moisture sensitive finishes will turn white. Next, paper goods will be ruined due to moisture absorption, and latent animal urine will become apparent.

Within Hours

Within hours of the initial water damage problem, furniture in direct contact with water delaminates or swells, causing legs to split. Then, swelling wood will crack finishes and any sheetrock (such as drywall and gypsum board) will swell. You will notice a sour bacteria odor in the air, and the metal surfaces in your structure will begin to tarnish.

Within Days

Within days, real problems will begin occurring if you leave the water damage to just sit. Fungi will begin to appear, along with the musty odor that comes with mold propagation. Next, each wooden furniture piece in the affected area will begin to warp, becoming apparently damaged. Hygroscopic internal components in pianos and organs swell from condensed moisture absorption. Metal surfaces rust, pit, and corrode – causing permanent damage. The paint on the walls will blister, dissolving plaster. Inhabitants of the structure with asthma or the elderly will develop reactions to the environment.

If You Wait a Week or Longer

If you still haven’t called us after water has been allowed to damage your structure for a week, then you are in for serious issues – and you may have inadvertently permanently damaged your structure. With prolonged dampness mold sinks roots into and destroys organic materials (like jute backings, paper coverings, paneling, wood, contents of cabinets). Any wood components in the affected area will warp and split, while chemicals within the wood dissolve and discolor or just downright destroy your finishes. By waiting this long, you can guarantee your claim costs will escalate dramatically as the requirements for gutting the structure and replacing components becomes necessary. Occupants must be evacuated at this point, due to biological health hazards, and any children present will become sensitized to allergens arising from the uncontrolled growth of microorganisms.