Spotting Water Damage During a Walk Through

Buying a home can be an exciting and scary time. It is a huge investment, and you want to make sure that you don’t buy a home that will end up having and million and one problems with it starting the day after you close. One thing that can affect a home throughout several years is if there is a water damage cleanup issue that has never been seen to. So here are some ways to identify water damage during your home walk through and to know if the house is still worth the price. 

Smell

The most obvious indicator that a home has water damage is if it smells like mold or mildew right when you walk in the door. This smell is hard to hide and it is usually present in homes that have been sitting for several months. You may wonder if you will be able to identify this smell when you walk into a home, but you shouldn’t worry. If a home smells like wet towels that have been sitting on the ground for a few days, you can be pretty sure that the mold or mildew is in the walls and the carpet. Though you can be sure that you have a mold problem, smells cannot tell you how extensive the problem is. You will need to have your local Monticello water damage cleanup company such as Advanced Disaster Recovery Inc. walk through with you to determine the extent of the damage. Though some can be well hidden and might not be fully uncovered until you start doing the repairs. 

Frozen Pipes

If the home you are looking at has sat through a winter season and hasn’t been winterized, you likely will have burst pipes throughout the home. This can be evident with puddles on the floor, soft spots in subflooring and staining or holes in the ceilings. You will need to consult a professional about this water damage cleanup issue since frozen pipes could be a very easy, localized fix or it could flood and extend throughout the entire home. 

Staining

You might even see mold if it has gotten very bad. You will be able to see black splotches trailing up and down drywall in homes that are in desperate need of water damage cleanup. If you have water damage on the outside surface of your walls, you can almost bet that you have water damage and mold on the inside of the walls as well. Mold is not something you should take care of yourself and it can be very dangerous to your health to breathe in the spores. If you are considering a home that has water damage, make sure you contact a restoration company to help you figure out doing repairs before you move in or before you start renovating your flip. 

It is important to have professional help when you are dealing with a home that needs water damage cleanup. The best thing you can do if you are considering buying a home with problems is to have a water damage restoration company come out and give you a consolation of what you can expect the repairs will look like.