Water damage can be a controversial thing that happens inside our house. It is also a complicated thing to deal with. There could also be conflicting advices on how water damage should be prevented and resolved. In a more serious case, water damage could cause people to get sick due to the growth of mold, fungus and microorganisms. Water damage is often defined as losses in an indoor and outdoor environment due to unwanted presence of moisture or water. Water can be quite destructive. It delaminates plywood, rusts metal, causes rots on wood and many others. The damage can be invisible at first and once it mars the surface, the damage could be quite extensive.
There are different causes of water damages, such leaking roof, hydrostatic pressure, natural disasters, clogged gutter, sewage back-ups, sabotage and leaking plumbing. We should provide a through attention to improve the situation. When water damage occurs in an apartment or large houses, the situation may need to be inspected properly, because this situation could have big implications on occupants’ health. The quality of the building would slowly deteriorate and wall could literally crumble. The problem is more serious if the house foundation is exposed to water damage. The foundation may shift, causing cracks in wall and leaks on the roof. The house may literally collapse when the foundation is badly affected by water damages.
A water leak shouldn’t be allowed to exist for more than one day. The high moisture level could cause changes inside the house, especially affecting fibrous materials inside the house, such as carpets and couches. There are some changes that could happen in a house with water damage, such as microbiological off-gasing, unwanted chemical reactions, parasitic infestation, bacteria amp;ification, mold growth and many others. Our interior objects already contain some amount of spores and microbes. In general, microbes are microorganisms and they are usually very small, one-cell organisms. Bacteria could proliferate very fast in a humid condition.
Fungi and mold spores could also immediately germinate in couches and carpets, causing very fast growth. Microbes off-gasing could happen in areas where water damages occurs. It means that cleaning agents, pesticides, and other vapor could be released by materials that have been contaminated by fast microbial growth. This could increase the level of toxin substances in indoor environments. People who have burning sensations, tingling in extremities, joint pains, muscle pains, neuro-cognitive symptoms, excessive fatigue and bad headaches could already be affected by microbial off-gasing. This condition should be remedied quickly to avoid further health problems.
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