In a recent post, we talked about misconceptions people have about fire damage and fire damage restoration. Fire damage is a frightening topic, and many people in SoCal worry about it.
But water damage is a huge problem for homes as well, and if we’re going to spend time on myths about fire damage, we need to give the same attention to water damage. Whatever water damage problems you’ve got, you can rest assured that we’ll help you with our expert water damage restoration in Orange County, CA.
Let’s look at the most common misconceptions people have about residential water damage.
“Water damage probably won’t happen to my house”
We understand that SoCal isn’t as prone to massive flooding as other areas. But most water damage happens because of internal plumbing leaks, and those can happen in any home. In fact, water damage is seven times more likely to occur than fire damage, and it’s the top cause of damage to luxury homes because of the larger number of plumbing appliances and pipes that can go wrong.
“Water damage will just go away”
This makes superficial sense to many. After all, if a towel gets wet, you just leave it out to dry and the water goes away. But if you take even a moment to think about it, you’ll realize how wrong this thinking is. If you spill water on paper, does the paper go right back to normal when it dries? No, it sustains water damage that will make it warp and crinkle. The same is true of the water damage to a home. Even if the water dries up—and if there’s enough of it, this won’t happen—it will have already seeped into construction material and created serious damage.
“If you can’t see it, there’s no damage”
We hope most people don’t genuinely believe this—but too often people are willing to ignore potential water damage if they can’t see anything. A large dark spot on a ceiling is a major sign of water damage, but many types of water damage can hide behind walls or behind fixtures and appliances. (Water damage behind a built-in bathtub is especially insidious.) Watch for less obvious signs such as warped flooring, mildew growth, and musty smells.
“Small leaks are not a big deal”
Any leak is one you need to deal with. A small leak is just one that takes longer to build up damage. Plus, where there’s one leak, there are probably several others that you don’t know about. These leaks will cause water damage while also wasting water. The longer you wait to have a leak fixed is more time to build up water restoration bills and mold remediation costs. Get a plumber on the job right away, and if there’s water damage, don’t wait to have us correct that either.
“The smell won’t be that bad”
We wish this were true. But the growth of mold inside building material like drywall and wood will create a pretty awful odor, and it’s not something you can scrub away. But you want that mold gone for more reasons than just the smell. Mold eats through building material and can release toxic mold spores.
For comprehensive home restoration services you can rely on, contact Jarvis Restoration today!