Some of the best-hidden places where you can find water damage in a home are the kitchen and bathroom cabinets. It is the ideal place, afterall: Water sources located nearby (sinks and dishwashers) and running throughout them (icemaker and dishwasher lines) mean that water damage caused by small leaks can potentially build up over time, surreptitiously. Areas behind the dishwasher, under the sink and along the icemaker water lines are prime places where water damage can be hidden.
A water loss, such as a minor flood, can also lead to hidden water damage that may not be discovered until much later. When water pools up around your cabinets, it can seep down between the grout lines up against your cabinets and be wicked up into the cabinet material in mere minutes. The longer this material stays wet, there is more of a chance that it can turn into a problem later down the line.
Alongside cabinets, your drywall is a particularly susceptible area to water damage after even minor flooding. Water can wick up the porous drywall within only a short period of time, as much as inches within an hour. This damage may not even be visible, depending on the height of your baseboards. This is part of the reason why we find it important to remove baseboards and toe kicks when determining the extent of water damage. In many cases, we find evidence of untreated water damage that ranges from months to years of neglect.
IRS employs tried and trusted drying methods on all water loss jobs to ensure that your home and materials dry out properly. This includes the proper number of air movers to circulate the air in your home, as well as dehumidifiers to pull the moisture out of that air. This helps your materials dry out faster because once the air in your home is drier, the air will begin to wick the moisture out of your materials.
One of the best assets you can have at your disposal as a homeowner is knowledge. Before hiring a damage restoration company, educate yourself on some of these potential problems and be aware and be honest with yourself about potential damages in your own home. With IRS’ wealth of experience, we can assure you that we have your best interests in mind when we extract water from your home after a loss. Details like checking your cabinets for water damage may seem minor, but to us, any place where there may be hidden water damage are important places to us. If it was our home, we would want to know for certain, and we believe that you would want to know as well.
