Repair Water Damage - Finding the Source

Knowing where your water originated from is one of the most important factors in cleaning up your water damage mess. The type of water that affected your home is necessary in deciding how to go about the water damage cleaning, restoring, and remediation process.

Water has three types. Although these are not always easy to distinguish, I will include examples so that you should be able to correctly identify and fix your water damage issue.

Clean Water: The safest of all water types. This water lives up to its name in that it is visibly clear, and looks "clean." As long as this water is cleaned up promptly (within 72 hours), the affected materials may be saved and restored. If the water had been sitting there for over 72 hours, it should be treated as black water. Examples of clean water sources include malfunctioning sump pumps, broken appliance supply lines, rain run-off, foundation cracks, and leaking or overflowed pipes.

Gray Water: This is a mildly hazardous water type. It may look clear as if it is "clean" water; however, it possesses contaminants that can cause illness and discomfort amongst people and pets. It is not extremely dangerous to work with; however, precautionary measures should be taken. It often originates from an overflowed toilet or a drain backup.

Black Water: The most hazardous type of water damage. This water damage should be treated and remediated with the use of extreme caution. This water may still contain solid pieces of fecal matter and toilet tissue. In most cases, you will also be able to identify the presence of black water through its extremely foul odor. This water often comes from faulty or broken ejector pumps, broken sewage lines, or a sewage back-up. Any and all affected materials must be immediately removed from the residence and discarded.

Any Water: Do not hesitate any longer in cleaning up your water damage issue. Repair water damage yourself by visiting DIY Water Damage for a step-by-step guide to repairing your water damage issue without the “help” of an overpriced company. Remember, leaving your water damage untreated is just making a bad situation even worse.

Do Not Wait To Repair Your Water Damage

Within hours, hazardous mold and mildew begin to grow in your water damage affected home. If left untreated, the mold will quickly multiply and grow throughout the affected area of your residence. Within 72 to 94 hours, your home is far into secondary water damage affects and the consequences that arise with such long procrastination.

Water damage is progressive, meaning that it the longer you wait to treat it, the worse the damage becomes. Although the majority of the damage happens instantly when the water begins to come in contact with your home and the items inside of it, the secondary water damage can made your home uninhabitable.

For the sake of simplicity, I will outline a time line in which different damages occur in chronological order.

1-6 Hours: The water has been soaked up by drywall, padding, and absorbent materials such as cardboard and cushions. Depending on the type of water (clean, gray, or black), these materials may already be unsalvageable and dangerous to reuse.

6-24 Hours: Mold and mildew have begun to grow along with hazardous bacteria and other microorganisms. Depending on the original contaminates of the water, these harmful microorganisms can vary from quite dangerous to causing only mild discomfort.

24-72 Hours: The water has begun to take its toll on furniture and your home's structural integrity. Secondary damage is already occurring and it can render your furniture and other personal items unsalvageable within this time frame.

72+ Hours: Even if you were originally affected with clean water, the bacteria content in the water has grown to such high levels that all affected materials must be promptly removed. Everything that was touched by this water (furniture, personal items, baseboards, walls, etc.) must be removed and discarded. The mold and mildew are in full force, and are most likely are beginning to become visible on the back of baseboards. After a week of untreated water damage, your ventilation system is beginning to be bombarded with mold spores. This can trigger asthmatic attacks and is simply detrimental to our respiratory system.

Immediately: Do not hesitate any longer in cleaning up your water damage issue. Repair water damage yourself by visiting DIY Water Damage for a step-by-step guide to repairing your water damage issue without the "help" of an overpriced company. Remember, leaving your water damage untreated is just making a bad situation even worse.