Despite the excitement of blooming flowers and soaring temperatures, spring comes with its own hazards. More specifically, it brings rain—lots of it. These seasonal storms, flooding, and torrential downpours can wreak serious havoc on your home. Moisture can creep its way inside through holes in your roof or cracks in the foundation, and infest your home with rot, mold, and swelling.
The worst part is that water damage is not always easy to detect. It can be a silent threat that lurks behind walls or under floors, often going unnoticed until it becomes a more serious (and expensive) problem. Don’t let hidden water damage spread through your home this spring! In this blog, we’ll walk you through six signs of hidden water damage you might be overlooking—and what you should do if you find them.
6 Hidden Signs of Water Damage
Water Stains or Discoloration
When looking for water damage in your home, keep an eye out for any staining or discoloration on the walls or ceiling. Like a Rorschach inkblot test, you can tell a lot from the patches—the intensity of the color tells you how serious the water damage is, with yellow stains meaning the damage is less severe and dark brown discoloration being an indicator of prolonged water exposure.
Staining or discoloration is caused by water seeping into your home and deteriorating the building materials, causing them to leech mineral deposits and other residue. Luckily, they’re pretty good at pointing you towards the direction of the leak—unfortunately, they can also be a sign of serious water damage.
Musty Odor
One of the easiest to detect and most telltale signs of hidden water damage will be the smell. When water damage occurs, mold or mildew can start growing behind walls, under floors, or in other unseen areas. As these mold colonies fester and grow, they release a persistent musty smell. This smell can become especially exacerbated by the rising spring temperatures, as mold thrives in warm, humid conditions.
If you’re noticing an odor but having a hard time finding the source, start in your basement or crawl space, then work your way up through your house. If you’re unable to locate it, call a professional—it’s likely a sign of hidden moisture buildup, and should be addressed as quickly as possible to prevent further mold growth.
Warping, Peeling, or Sagging Paint
Peeling paint may not just be a sign that you need a fresh coat—it could also be an indicator of water damage. When moisture gets behind walls, it can weaken the adhesive on paint or wallpaper and cause it to start warping, peeling, bubbling, or sagging. If you notice surfaces that had previously been smooth and blemish-free are suddenly starting to blister or separate from the wall, you may have a problem on your hands.
Run your hands over the wall, feeling for any bumpiness, softness, or signs of moisture. If you notice wet spots, it likely means water has gotten into your home. To prevent the problem from spreading or leading to rot, you’ll want to find the source of the incoming water right away.
Humidity or Dampness
Are you walking into a room and noticing a sudden humidity or dampness that isn’t quite normal? The air may feel thick and heavy, or strangely hot or cold. If so, it may be caused by a water leak that is soaking into the walls, floors, or ceiling and adding moisture to the environment.
Humidity is often accompanied by other symptoms of water damage, such as mold growth, musty odors, and water staining. If you’re only noticing humidity, other water damage signs may be taking place out of sight, or will start appearing within the next couple of days.
Visible Mold
The most obvious sign of water damage is, of course, visible mold. Mold caused by water damage comes in all shapes and sizes—it can be green and fuzzy, black and speckled, or even large dots of blue. Mold requires moisture to grow, so regardless of how it decides to manifest, you know you’ve got water damage on your hands.
Unfortunately, mold doesn’t only grow in places that are easy to find with the naked eye. Mold also grows behind walls and under carpet, which will likely require the help of a professional to remove. Whatever you do, don’t stop at mold removal! Make sure you discover how water got into your home to cause the mold in the first place.
Unexplained Sickness
In some instances, when there are no visible signs of water damage, your health can still clue you in. As mentioned, water damage can lead to mold, which can then cause people to experience asthma attacks, respiratory infections, or allergic reactions. More specifically, itchy eyes or skin, excessive sneezing, and coughing are common.
In the springtime, it may be hard to separate the usual seasonal allergies from signs of water damage somewhere in your home. However, mold exposure can also lead to fatigue, which is an unusual symptom of allergies. If you notice your symptoms getting worse when you’re inside, as opposed to outside, you’ll want to poke around your property to try and see if there is water damage somewhere.
How to Tell if Water Damage is New or Old
If you live in an older home, signs of pre-existing water damage are sometimes just par for the course. But how are you supposed to tell if your water damage is just a cosmetic issue leftover from a previous problem, or signs of a new and imposing threat to your home?
- Touch to determine softness. If you touch the wall around signs of water damage and notice that it’s still wet or squishy, the damage is likely new. A firm, dry wall likely suffered damage in the past.
- Examine the watermark. Like looking at the rings of a tree, examining a watermark can tell you a lot about its age. A faded or light-colored spot likely means it’s been there for a bit and dried, while new watermarks will be darker.
- Consider the home’s history. If you’ve lived at the property a while, try to recall what past damage has occurred, if any. If you’re new to the home, consider when it was built, the weather in the area, and how well it was taken care of by the previous owner.
It’s important to note that even if the water damage appears old, you should always contact a professional to get a second opinion if you’re unsure. If you wrongly assume water damage is “old”, you’re allowing it to spread and get worse, leading to costly repairs.
What to Do If You Find Water Damage This Spring
If spring rain or flooding causes water damage in your home, it’s important to stay calm. You want to be sure to minimize the damage while still setting yourself up for a successful water damage insurance claim.
Step 1: Document the Damages
Your first instinct is probably to start tidying up. Resist the urge! Move any undamaged valuables or personal items out of harm’s way. Then, start documenting everything! Take as many pictures and videos as you can, making sure to capture damage on the walls and other structures, any property loss, and the source of the water itself.
It’s also beneficial to take a moment to write down some notes, such as when you noticed the water damage, what the weather was like outside, and what steps you took after. The more information you gather, the easier it will be to file an insurance claim.
Step 2: Clean Up the Water
Once you’re sure you’ve documented everything, you’re good to start cleaning up the water damage. If you’re dealing with pooled water, use buckets, towels, mops, or a wet-dry vacuum to remove as much as you can. Move any waterlogged items to a dry space and make sure the affected area has good ventilation so it can dry out.
If you’re dealing with damages beneath the surface, such as mold in the walls or staining on the ceiling, you’ll likely need to get professional help. (The good news is that your insurance company will likely cover the cost of their services under your water damage policy.)
Step 3: Check Your Insurance Policy
It’s time for the hard part: looking over your insurance policy. Most homeowners’ insurance policies have coverage for water damage or flooding. Take the time to review the policy to make sure that you have everything you need to submit a claim.
If you’re confused, don’t be afraid to call an insurance representative to ask for clarification—insurance companies purposefully like to use professional jargon and unclear language to disorient you during the claims process. Don’t let them bewilder you so much that they get to give you a smaller settlement check!
Step 4: Contact a Public Adjuster
If you’re struggling to file a water damage claim, then consider contacting a public adjuster. They’re property claims experts who work exclusively on your behalf to make sure you get a fair payment. They will evaluate the extent of the water damage, file the paperwork, and follow through on the process until everything has been settled. They can also connect you with a trustworthy contractor or cleaners to help get the damages repaired while you wait for your claim to be processed.
How Fortitude Can Help With Water Damage
If you’re looking for guidance on how to navigate the water damage claims process, then contact us today! At Fortitude Public Adjuster, we have a knowledgeable team of experienced adjusters who have been working in Wisconsin for a long time and understand how to help with damage caused by spring rain and flooding. We’ll fight on your behalf to get you a fair payment!
