Your home is not just a hollow building of brick and wood. It is where you
dwell with your loved ones. But seemingly small issues like a dripping faucet or an overflowing sewer can bog down your living space. Water damage particularly is something that dampens your spirits.
Causes of Water Damage
 Small plumbing damages, leaking roofs and ceilings may not have
immediate or visible magnitude of water damage, but can be irritating.
Procrastinating to take prompt corrective steps can exponentially
increase the risk of a substantial water damage.
 Poor/inadequate ventilation causes condensation and humidity in
critical spots like kitchens, bathrooms, around central air conditioning
systems and overhead electrical fixtures, etc. leading to localised
structural damage and mold growth. Again, the extent of water damage
may be small at the moment, but can escalate to worrisome levels if not
checked in advance.
 Aging houses, poor maintenance: All assets undergo wear and tear
of the climate and frequent use. Periodic Maintenance can help identify
potential water damage sources; but if you don’t, it’s too late to defend
the house from a sudden disaster.
 Constricted sewage & plumbing lines can affect the flow of water,
building pressure and leading to overflowing/bursting.
 Natural disasters like Torrential rain, hail, melting snow, hurricanes,
floods have a major and immediate impact on your house.
Water damage categories
 Clean Water – water spills from sanitary water sources may not pose
health risks in the short run, but post-damage mitigation varies vastly.
 Grey Water – water with slight degree of biomedical/chemical
contamination, such as toilet bowls with urine, laundry, dishwashers etc.
It may be treated or handled by a layperson with appropriate PPEs.
 Black or Toxic water – water highly contaminated with pathogenic,
toxigenic, or other harmful agents, such as Sewage, toilet backflows,
flood water mixed with chemical sludge, etc. We have zeroed down on the sources of water damage. How does Water Damage Impact your Home?

Water Damage Impacts
Health Risks
 Contaminated (grey/black) water contains pathogens and/or toxic
chemicals, including paints, acids, heavy metals, chemical compounds,
oil/sludge and so on. Physical damage, disease and infections are
some of the many health risks of contaminated water.
 Stagnant water due to flooding or leaking can become breeding ground
for insects and parasites.
 Trash carried by floodwaters may carry significant amount of disease.
 Once hit by water damage, your home is structurally unsound; falling
parts, floating debris, naked electric wires or gas leakage may lead to
Physical injury or, in extreme cases, loss of life.
 Water damage may breed mold in your house. Apart from destroying
useful items and consumables, it may infect food and may cause
allergies or other health issues.
Structural Damage to your Home
 Dripping water may not have apparent water damage. But moisture
seeping into your walls, floor, ceiling, basement weakens your home
right from the foundation, making it weak against forceful shocks.
 Prolonged exposure to leaking water can corrode metal fixtures, warp
and distort woodwork, cause paint, wallpaper to peel off, and so on.
 High impact disasters like flooding, pipe bursting etc. can immediately
destroy significant parts of your property.
Damage to Personal Belongings
 Water damage inevitably leads to soaked furniture, documents, clothes
and bedding, antiques, etc.
 Mold and mildew growth is an offshoot of water damage It may require
you to destroy or get rid of items succumbing to mold.
Financial Impact
 Reparation and restoration of Structural Damage is costly; depending
on the extent and stage of water damage, you may need to shell out
huge amounts.
 A home affected by water damage also sees a devaluation in real
estate markets.
 If your home is not insured against water or flood damage, you’re likely
to suffer financial losses if disaster strikes.

Regular maintenance of your home helps you avoid all these impacts. In case of water damage Columbia, water damage restoration professionals will help you right from the damage clean-up to the reparation & restoration works.