Restoration Companies in Kansas City-How To Identify And Date Water Damage In An Older Home–Older homes can have immense character and charm; most are solidly built and are a great investment of your time and money.  But as with most things, age creates a specific set of concerns for older homes. Water damage is one of those areas to look for as you purchase an older home or manage your older home’s upkeep. 

The good news is that with careful observation, you can discover water damage before it becomes a serious, costly issue. The best-case scenario for any water damage is to prevent it. If you do find water damage, you’ll need to get it fixed ASAP to prevent more extensive damage.

Restoration Companies in Kansas City-Water Damage: How To Identify It

Water damage can be hard to identify–primarily because many times a water leak starts behind a finished interior or exterior wall. However, there are some tell-tale signs you can look for. Here’s a quick list:

Restoration Companies in Kansas City—Stains

Any sort of water stain is a sure sign that water is not where it is supposed to be in your home. If you are in an older home and see a dark mark on the ceiling or on a wall, you need to get it checked out quickly. What may look like a small issue from your vantage point could be a larger fix once you look behind walls and see the full picture.

–Restoration Companies in Kansas City–Exterior Openings

Openings into your home are particularly susceptible to water damage. If you are looking to purchase an older home or you are doing regular maintenance, check these areas for signs of water damage:

• Check beneath windows, both exterior and interior.
• Check that the threshold of any exterior doors is not loose or has visible signs of wood rot.
• Do you have a chimney? While it’s not an easy spot to get to, make sure that the roof is sealed around it. This is an easy spot for water to get into your home.
• A common area for water damage particularly in older homes is exterior painted window sills. Look for soft or wet areas of wood.

Restoration Companies in Kansas City-Smells

Water damage can oftentimes create stale, moldy, or musty smells. If you start smelling something strange, check some of these interior areas of your home.

• Look for any signs of water around your bathtub or shower. This is especially important if your caulk is cracking. Water can easily get behind walls and create damage without any visible signs except for a sour smell.
• Check your dishwasher and washing machine water lines. Sometimes it can be a very small leak. However, if one of those machines is regularly used, there will be a fair amount of water causing damage to your home.
• Check under all of your sinks. Sometimes, we don’t always look inside the cabinets where there can be a slow leak in your sink drain or water lines. A quick sniff can usually help you determine if there has been water damage.
• If the smell is coming from your bathroom, see if your toilet is wobbly. Many times, the wax ring might not have been sealed properly, allowing toilet water to slowly leak through your floor.

Healthy Opportunities For People Everywhere. Restoration Companies in Kansas City

Restoration Companies in Kansas City—Bowing or Unlevel Surfaces

Walls and floors are built to be level and straight. Having any signs of swelling or uneven flooring can be a serious water problem. 

• In older homes, the plaster will begin to peel and flake when exposed to water. Drywall will also absorb moisture and start to swell. 
• Hardwood floors will become warped or buckle. 
• On the exterior of your home, your siding is also meant to be level. Siding can have water damage at the corners of your home as well as where the seams of your siding connect.

After any type of flooding, the wet drywall needs to be removed to allow insulation and studs to dry. Even if it looks like the area dried up quickly, mold and mildew can still begin to grow. The best course of action is to call a professional like Midwest Comfort Homes to make sure that your home is safe again after finding any type of water damage.

Restoration Companies in Kansas City—How Can You Tell If Water Damage Is New Or Old

When you begin to see external signs of water damage, it can be hard to know if this is a new leak or if you might have a bigger problem on your hands with water that has been slowly creating damage behind closed walls. However, there are some strategies to figure out if this is a new occurrence or if you have inherited an older issue.

• Have you found a spot? Feel it to see if it feels wet or if the area feels soft. If the area is simply wet, you are most likely dealing with new water damage. If the surface is soft or mushy? This means water is being absorbed by the material created over a longer timeline with a greater likelihood of unseen damage.
• Is your spot just one circle or are there multiple rings? Just like a growing tree, rings show that the water has dripped, dried, and dripped, indicating an older water issue. With even just one circle or spot, it’s best to call in a water restoration company like Midwest Comfort Homes to fix the issue before it has the chance to do even greater damage.
• Consider the history of your home. Are you getting ready to purchase an older home? Then it’s important to consider newly painted ceilings or areas that may look patched up. These could be areas where there has been previous water damage. As you live in the home, check around the house when there are storms, particularly if you have a basement.
• If you find mold, this means the water damage has been active for at least two to three days. With other materials, if there is decay, this means that the water damage is old. The water has been slowly deteriorating the materials exposed to it over longer periods of time.

Restoration Companies in Kansas City––Have You Discovered Water Damage In Your Historic Home?

If you have experienced water damage or other problems with your historic or older home, Midwest Comfort Homes can help you fix the damage and get your life back to normal as quickly as possible.

Midwest Comfort Homes is a locally owned and operated disaster restoration company serving homeowners in the Columbus Park and Waldo, MO area. Our highly trained staff can help you coordinate the mitigation, insurance, and restoration process needed to repair your home to its character and charm. Contact us any time, day or night, and we can help you with any type of water damage, old or new.

AT MIDWEST COMFORT HOMES. We are your Restoration Contractors in Kansas City

Call us, and we can get your home back together again. We are a fully licensed restoration company offering fire damage restoration in Kansas City with years of experience helping people like you.

Contact us today.  MIDWEST COMFORT HOMES • 1100 SW 24th Street Court • Blue Springs, MO 64015

(816) 988-8297 • service@mchrestore.com

It’s not business.
It’s personal.

The driving force behind Midwest Comfort Homes is to be among the most trusted and respected home restoration companies in Kansas City. We will communicate with you throughout the entire restoration process to make sure you’re well informed each step of the way. Our Kansas City restoration contractors will make sure you know what comes next and give you a clear timeline for project completion. Home Restoration Companies Kansas City will also be in close contact with your insurance company to ensure each step of the restoration is handled properly.