Have you ever witnessed the disappearing water trick, where a magician causes water poured into a cup to magically vanish, as if into thin air? (Spoiler alert: sodium polyacrylate, the stuff in disposable diapers, is first put in the bottom of the cup to soak up the water!)
But water will disappear even without any “magic” involved. It’s very adept at hiding and can be exceedingly difficult to find. In fact, it sometimes hides so effectively that it can’t be detected unless special meters that sense the presence of water are used. Why is this important to know? Because even though water is essential for life, it’s also one of nature’s most destructive elements. Water damage is no joke and can seriously affect the structure of your Chicagoland area home. Read on to learn how hidden water can damage your home.
Where Can You Find Hidden Water in Your Home?
Water can be elusive because of the way that it moves. It spreads out like the letter “T” – moving out and downward from its source. Even if water looks to be sitting still, it really isn’t. Gravity continues to pull it down into the surface of the material it’s resting on. And as it moves, it spreads and soaks into whatever porous materials it comes into contact with. And after spreading out and down, it has another trick up its sleeve: It can also move upward. For example, because of capillary action in porous materials, water sitting at the base of drywall can wick up the wall at a rate of one inch per hour during a 24-hour period!
Because of water’s sneaky ways and the multiple causes for its infiltration in your home, you can find it hidden in a variety of places in the home. For example, water hides behind insulation, inside electrical boxes and outlets, behind walls and cabinets and in subfloors. Even if a surface feels dry, there may still be moisture hiding underneath or inside of it. What this can mean for your home or business is that secondary damage like mold or warping can occur. It can even ruin expensive hardwood floors. Of course, where water hides it also causes damage in your home. That’s why it’s important to act fast when you do find it.
What Should You Do?
Water damage is a serious issue in most older Chicagoland homes. So, when you find water hidden in your home, don’t delay! The longer water is left sitting in your home, the more damage it creates. Hesitating to acknowledge the problem also increases the drying time, adding to the costs of remediation.
When you find water hidden in your home, don’t DIY the cleanup. Instead, make sure you call in the professionals — or else you’ll risk not actually mitigating the water damage. The water damage restoration professionals at ServiceMaster Restoration By Simons have been trusted by Chicagoland residents for over 65 years, and we have a track record of performing safe and effective water damage cleanup.
We’ll be able to sniff out hidden water in your home with specialized moisture meters and thermal imaging cameras. With this equipment, we’ll be able to locate the confines of the affected area and show you the scope of the damage. Then our techs will go to work removing and drying up the moisture to ensure that no further damage occurs, bringing your property back to pre-loss condition.
Locating and cleaning hidden water in your home is no tall task for our crew. Water damage cannot hide from us! Check out our water damage restoration services, or call today to learn more.
ServiceMaster Restoration By Simons is an MBE/WBE certified firm and family-run company serving Chicago, Oak Park/River Forest, and the North Shore. ServiceMaster Restoration By Simons provides Disaster Restoration Services including COVID-19 Cleaning Services, Water & Flood Damage Restoration, Fire & Smoke Damage Restoration, Mold Remediation, and a wide range of interior specialty cleaning including Hoarder & Clutter Cleaning, Post-Construction Cleaning, Carpet Cleaning, and Upholstery Cleaning to residential and commercial customers. ServiceMaster Cleaning By Simons provides Specialty Cleaning Services For Chicago, Oak Park-River Forest, and the North Shore. For more information, give us a call at 773-376-1110 or visit servicemasterbysimons.com.