Using Your Nose to Detect Home Water Damage

Water leaks and flooding in your home can result in an enormous amount of home water damage. Cleaning your home from flooding and checking to see if water drips on the floor is not enough! Home items and components might be permanently ruined before you even realize it. Looking at the interior and exterior of your home will not tell you if there’s a problem. You must use your other senses, such as the nose, to detect home water damage. Home water damage doesn’t just mean damage to electronics and appliances; it can be a structural damage to walls and floors. Detecting water damage at an early stage gives you enough time to fix things before the problem becomes irreparable.

Molds

Molds are a type of tiny living organism from the fungi family. They thrive on moisture. They can multiply on any material and surface, most of the time in objects made of cellulose. Most homes have mold infections due to indoor moisture problems cased by leaks and flooding. When there’s water leakage, there’s rapid growth of mold. Normally, molds grow in damp areas, like the bathroom, flooded basement, leaking pipes and leaking roofs. These molds can significantly affect the health of the people living inside the home, so it’s wise to remove them and prevent them spreading. Appropriate actions should be taken to stop mold from mushrooming. Mold detection is a skill that one should learn, especially after flooding. In fact, it should be a skill that one should have if you plan to invest in a house!

Detecting Leaks

Using you nose to detect leaks is easy. Molds have a strong earthy and musty odor. If you smell this rank and moldy odor, it means there are molds in your home and the presence of water where there shouldn’t be. Ultimately, it suggests that there is water damage. Once you perceive a moldy smell, start to investigate right away. These scents are mostly found in these appliances, room furniture and spaces: air-conditioning units, heating and air-conditioning ducts, humidifiers and dehumidifiers, refrigerator drip pans, basements, attics, crawlspaces, bathrooms, carpets.

Scentless Molds

Despite the lack of moldy smell inside your home, molds can still grow behind the walls and in between panels and canals. After a flooding episode it’s still better to check between these areas to prevent further water damage.

Water Damage Aftermath

Once you’ve detected the water damage in your home, it’s now time to restore, repair, and recover. It’s time to restore your home to its previous condition, such as replacement of destroyed carpets, cleaning of drapes, and installation of new wallpapers. Plumbing repairs may be needed in some cases, and in others, structural repairs, such as wall reconstruction, may be required. This may include replacing water damaged dry walls and flooring, and installing new insulation.