Water can wreak havoc on your home, whether it's an unexpected leak in your ceiling or the aftermath of a storm. Musty smells, burst pipes, and leaking faucets make life more complicated. Here's how to detect signs of water damage in walls and the next steps to take to mitigate water damage in your home.

What Causes Water Damage In Your Home?

exposed ceiling after water damage

Water damage can open up your home for multiple issues other than flooding. For example, uninhibited water damage leads to mold growth, putting your family at risk. Likewise, extensive water damage can even affect the home's structural integrity.

The most common causes of water damage homeowners experience are:

But don't lose hope; you can detect water damage in your walls and home by looking for key signs. Here's what to identify and who to call when you have water damage.

Signs Of Water Damage In Walls

Some signs of water damage are obvious, while others take more effort to spot. The sooner you spot these telltale signs of water damage, the quicker you can go about getting it repaired.

Mold Growth In The Home

You walk into your home and notice that it smells musty, but you brush it off as just your mind playing tricks on you. You go about your day until later, you start experiencing breathing problems and start having allergic reactions. If you have had water damage, experiencing these symptoms could have happened because of mold growth.

Mold growth can go undetected for years. Mold grows thanks to the combination of mold spores and wet material. Combine the two, and you have a recipe for a subtle yet potentially dangerous growth.

While mold is natural and plays a crucial role in nature, it has no place in your home. Not only is it a home repair issue, but a health hazard. Toxic mold can cause various adverse health effects like nausea, vomiting, wheezing, and other breathing problems. It doesn't matter if it's mold on drywall or down in your basement; it needs addressing as soon as possible.

If you suspect mold, whether by musty smells or seeing it plain as day, make sure to call mold removal experts in Riverside County.

Five Star Restoration will help you detect hidden mold and assist you during removal.

Water Stains On Your Walls Or Ceiling

These overt signs of water damage should act as an alarm bell. Water stains can appear because of a leaky faucet or catastrophic roof damage after a storm.

In short, when you see a water stain, you can't afford to ignore it. If you ignore water stains, you'll likely have a much larger repair bill. Plus, remember the mixture of moisture and mold spores. That's right: another chance for dangerous mold growth.

Peeling Paint And Discoloration

red peeling paint in water damaged home

You may see discoloration on your wallpaper and peeling and bubbling paint. Water damage is likely the culprit. If not fixed quickly enough after a rainfall or pooling caused by a broken pipe or burst water heater, you may be in trouble.

There are a few other causes of peeling paint:

See if you can determine the source of the peeling paint and see if it's a water leak or merely a coat of old paint.

Is the peeling paint on your wall the result of a water leak, or could it be a sign of age? If something has been leaking, there will likely be some wet spots where the paint has been worn away by dampness.

An excellent way to figure out if this is water damage or age is by examining how solid everything looks around these areas. A strong layer should cover everything beneath.

Now that you've spotted water damage in your home, what comes next? Here are some next steps you can take.

How To Deal With Home Water Damage

There are a few ways to address water damage in your home. Use the previous signs to help you act to potentially stop further water damage.

Stop The Water Source

If possible, stopping the water source is an excellent first step in mitigating water damage. Sometimes, however, a burst pipe requires outside attention. However, if it’s dangerous trying to stop the water, opt instead for contacting experts.

Call Home Repair Professionals

When in doubt, calling on water damage specialists in Murrieta is your best bet.

Professionals with experience in treating every form of water damage can help you check for multiple issues and prevent problems in the future.

Our water repair services at Five Star Restoration can help homeowners document the extent of the damage and help you call your insurance company. Additionally, we can help you contact some of the best plumbers in the Inland Empire.

Repair Water Damage With Murrieta Home Reconstruction Experts

riverside county water damage repair professional fixing leaky pipes

Water damage restoration experts at Five Star Restoration will help you detect water damage in your home. If the damage is already done, Five Star Restoration team members will guide you through the next steps. The process of repairing and reconstructing your home can be long and stressful. But we try our best to make water damage a problem of the past.

Need help calling the right people, like your insurance agent or a plumber? As home repair specialists in Riverside County, we know exactly who to call to help you get back on your feet again.

We can help you address multiple issues that spring up from peeling paint, bubbling walls, mildew growth, and other effects of water damage.

Get in touch with home repair professionals at Five Star Restoration for more information!

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