Water In Your Walls? Read This

Water can get just about anywhere. It flows, it seeps, it absorbs and moves on. We’re all familiar with pictures of wet or flooded floors and basements but how about water in your walls?

How does water get in walls?

There are several mechanisms that can result in water getting into or on your walls. We’ll outline a few of them here:

• Water seeping down from the ceiling. Let’s say you’ve had a leak between floors or a burst pipe. The water has to go somewhere and gravity will help propel it downwards through the ceiling tiles or walls – whatever is closest.
• Water being absorbed from the floor. This is how water damage on the floors gets spread to the walls. The dry material (drywall, lumber, etc) used in the walls will greedily suck up the moisture from the saturated carpets and flooring. Now you have damage to your walls and surrounding areas.
• A leak IN the wall. Many areas of the home and office structures have pipes running between the walls. It’s how we keep our buildings looking neat and orderly! However, that can be a real problem when you suddenly see water pool along a wall or dripping down it!

What can you do to help a wet all?

There are several things that you can do to help remediate a wall that has moisture problems. These tips are a pretty good start:

Natural ventilation is one alternative for drying out a wall. It is definitely the least expensive, assuming you don’t run into problems. However this method is time consuming and mold is a fast growing organism that can spread while you wait for the walls to dry. If you do choose to dry the walls naturally, follow these steps:

1. Turn off the water source immediately.

2. Remove wall hangings and paintings. If the walls are papered, you will most likely need to remove the paper and repaper when the walls are dry.

3. Check any wall or ceiling insulation. Start removing and drying the insulation from the ceiling down to the floor. You may need to dispose of insulation if it is soaked.

4. Remove molding and baseboards. To properly dry out a wall, you need to remove any molding at the top of the wall and baseboards at the floor. Otherwise, the walls won’t have proper ventilation and moisture can remain trapped behind the baseboard and molding.

5. Get plenty of ventilation. Open windows and doors and blow fans on the wet area until the walls are dry. Just be careful about plugging in electrical appliances near water. Also run the air conditioner in the summer. http://homeimprovement.lovetoknow.com/How_to_Dry_Out_Wall_After_Water_Damage

Do you need help with your home or business and water problems? Contact us today: http://originwaterpros.com/service-quote/

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