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Home & Garden Articles
A Look at Understanding Water Damage
Tue 01 Sep 2009 - 20:35
A Look at Understanding Water Damage
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Randy_Hough]Randy Hough
There are many ways that water can damage your goods and property. Obviously floods and excessive rainfall do tremendous damage, but there are many other, less obvious, yet very devastating ways water can wreck your precious things. Water stains, foul odors, and black mold are just a few of the ways.
Take mold and mildew, for example. Mold will grow wherever it finds a suitable environment, and water in your crawl space or basement provide the ideal climate. Millions of houses are afflicted with insidious mold spores that cause allergies, encourage asthma, headaches, sinus problems and more. Often, the solution to these health maladies is right under our feet, yet we fail to recognize it.
Water damage in carpet and inside walls is also a common problem that is overlooked. Once mold begins to grow in a carpet, it can be quite difficult to get rid of it. Sometimes the only solution is to throw it out. Some companies specialize in restoring carpet damage and fixing damaged sheet rock and framing.
The basement and crawl space are two of the areas where water can accumulate and do great harm. It can happen that the leak is actually quite far from the puddle of water, and this can be very frustrating to the homeowner.
A leaky shingle on the roof can allow water to run down a rafter, along the frame and down into the basement. Water leaves it's mark, however, and you can trace the pathway by shining a flashlight along it's path. It can be a little maddening at times to find the source, but once you have done it a few times it becomes somewhat predictable.
A good carpenter, contractor or water damage specialist can usually solve your problem, if you act soon after noticing the damage. This is critical, and people tend to procrastinate what they do not enjoy, and who enjoys facing a sometimes expensive home repair?
Basement floors, in particular, can be troubling. If the drainage is insufficient around the perimeter of the house, it is quite likely that water will seep up through the floor. Simply painting the floor will not solve the problem.
When seeking a solution to a water problem in a house or building, there are always 3 things that must be done.
Find and understand the source of the problem
Repair and restoration
Prevention
Understanding
It makes no sense at all to just let a problem go untreated. Even if you are renting, you still live there. Your landlord may not be the most cooperative, and this can pose an enormous problem. In serious cases, you may be able to find legal help.
Repair and restoration
You can do many things on your own, but there are many more that require the expertise of a professional restoration expert. Foundation work, site work, concrete work, grading of the driveway and yard are typical projects that require more equipment and experience than most homeowners have.
Another limiting factor is time, which usually is quite critical when it comes to water damage.
Prevention
Now that your problem is solved, make sure it does not have the opportunity to happen again! Unless it is beyond your control, do whatever it takes to keep the same thing from repeating. Once you enjoy the peace and order of an odor free, mold spore free, water stain free and generally pleasant atmosphere, you will be glad you made the effort.
Randy Hough and Jon Arnett have a website that talks about water damage. You can learn about [http://www.squidoo.com/waterproofingbasementwalls]waterproofing basement walls and more.
"You know Dad, I've been thinkin', one is a lot more than zero!" my son, Thomas, age 5.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Randy_Hough http://EzineArticles.com/?A-Look-at-Understanding-Water-Damage&id=2841759
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