When a home or business falls victim to a flood, water damage is to be expected. Property owners and repair teams know that they need to inspect structures, plumbing, and common mold growing spots so that corrective action may be taken as quickly as possible. When faulty plumbing or a subtle leak occur though, identifying water damage becomes much more difficult. In most cases, property owners do not even think to look for it until it is too late. To prevent a structural disaster keep an eye out for the following signs of water damage. If a situation is discovered, call a specialist right away:

Warping: If you have wood floors or the laminate tiles that are growing in popularity, water absorption is going to be a serious problem. Fortunately you can identify problems early if you’re constantly checking. Water warps floors of these types, causing them to stick up, shift, or expand and pop out of place.

Stains: These will most often appear on the ceiling, and will be brown or yellow in color. When enough water is collecting to form a stain there is usually mold accompanying it which creates the color. Be careful handling these.

Crumbling Walls: Drywall absorbs water; but this won’t be immediately apparent because paint and texturing hides the damage. Eventually the wall itself will swell or collapse in on itself. If you catch the issue early you can prevent a very nasty surprise.

Dealing with water damage is not fun for anyone; but if you are vigilant and catch issues early you may luck out and deal with only a minor annoyance.