How to Find Hidden Water Damage in Your Home

6/10/2021 (Permalink)

TLC advised us all to not chase waterfalls. That advice should be ignored when the waterfalls are outside because they’re picturesque and should be visited. However, you do not want to see waterfalls in your home in the form of a leaking ceiling. 

That’s a clear sign of water damage that you can see, and you know that you need to take care of it. However, there’s another form that isn’t as obvious as a waterfall in your living room. That type is hidden water damage behind your walls, in your rugs, or inside your ceiling. 

Even if you can’t see the water right in front of you, there are ways you can tell if there might be water damage in or underneath your home that needs to be addressed.

• A musty smell that wasn’t there before. If your basement or one of your rooms starts smelling musty, there may be hidden water damage that resulted in mildew or mold. 
• Bubbles in the paint of your ceiling. Yes, these could be just from steam in your bathroom forming a coat of moisture, especially if they’re on top of your shower, but they could also be caused by water that collected in your ceiling and is popping through the ceiling as a bubble. This is particularly bad if it’s not a pin-sized dot of a bubble and is instead the size of a dinner plate or larger. That water damage should be remediated immediately.
• Peeling or stained paint on your wall. This is the same as bubbles on the ceiling, except that in this case, the paint could be flaking off or stained from water that has collected in between your drywall and the layers of paint. 
• An increase in your water bill. Stay on top of what you pay each month. If it has suddenly increased without any uptick in water usage, you could have a hidden water leak. 

Think there’s water damage in your home and you want to be sure? Reach out to the Massachusetts water damage remediation experts at SERVPRO of Stoneham / Wakefield. We have state of the art technology to assess and spot the water damage you can’t see and to restore your home to its pre-water damage state, including drying out precious documents.