Fixing water damage is relatively easy depending on what kind of water damage you have. If you have a slight discoloration in your ceiling from a roof leak then the repair may be as simple as putting a little roof tar on the leaking area and applying some Kilz brand paint to the affected area on your ceiling. I will address how to fix water damage around the home.

The best way to fix water damage is to find out exactly what is causing the damage and address the problem immediately. If you see signs of water damage like paint discoloration on your wall, on the ceiling or other part of the house, or witness the formation of water puddles in any area, sounds of dripping water or lack of water pressure then either call a plumber or search out the root cause for yourself. Many times the actual cause of water damage is not readily apparent as water seeks the path of least resistance. The water may flow down and around a few things before it shows by creating a puddle or soft spot in your drywall or even discoloration of paint on your ceiling.

Once you have determined where the water leak is coming from then you need to decide if you are knowledgeable enough and have the equipment to formulate the repair yourself.  If not then please contact a certified and licensed plumber to make the repair.  You can not begin to repair the water damage until the source that caused the damage is fixed.

If you are planning on affecting the repair yourself, you need to assess how much damage is there and plan your materials list accordingly. Some types of water damage are relatively easy to repair. For example, if you had water damage in your basement that has a concrete floor then the only repairs you will probably need to make are to refurnish or repaint any existing baseboards, clean the concrete floor and treat it with an antimicrobial wash to prevent the development of molds.

If you have a carpet then it is a little more difficult but if you have indoor/outdoor carpeting with no padding then a commercial carpet cleaner with deodorizer and antimicrobial agents in the soap will do the job for you. If you have a padded carpet, you may need to remove the carpet and padding to make sure it is fully dry before cleaning. At times you may even need to make a full replacement of both padding and carpeting.

Whether you have homeowners insurance and have made a claim for water damage will affect how to fix your water damage. If you are making your own water damage repairs and have not made a claim I will go into other ways to repair your water damage. If you have baseboard and drywall damage where the baseboards are warped or damaged beyond refinishing (MDF does not do well in water), or your drywall is collapsed or warped then you will need to measure how many feet of baseboard and how many square feet of drywall you will need.

If the affected drywall is relatively small then you can cut out the affected area, cut a piece to fit, cover the seams with drywall tape, add drywall mud, sand it down and finally repaint to match the rest of the drywall. Baseboards are simple as long as you have the finish or paint to match the unaffected baseboards.

Fixing water damage on furniture is simple if the areas affected are only water stains on wood surfaces. If you have upholstered furniture that got wet or soaked along with any pillows for sofas then you will need to contact a water restoration specialist to make sure that you do not end up with molds in your furniture and to make sure that all odours and stains are removed.

If this case I would definitely make a claim on my homeowners insurance if the furniture was valuable enough to repair versus replace. If the water damage is only on the feet of wood furniture then you can use Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove water marks and any brand of wood polish like Pledge to restore the shine.

If window treatments, bedding or other fabrics are affected by water damage then many times they can be easily fixed by washing thoroughly (unless dry clean only) a few times with a good detergent like All or Tide. If the upholstery fabric or window treatments are dry clean then only your regular dry cleaner can restore your items to original condition as long as you let them know what happened. They will only do a standard cleaning unless you tell them otherwise. Got any questions about how to fix water damage? Comment form is waiting for you!

In our next hub we shall discuss about carpet water damage.

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