Water damage, especially for those with multiple-story homes, has the potential to take over the functionality of a property in its entirety. If you haven’t examined your ceiling for any micro leaks or cracks, the presence of heaving rainfall or storms is a perfect time to confirm that your home is a leak-resistant home.

To successfully safeguard your home from unsuspecting water exposure, we recommend partnering with a professional water damage restoration company like us at PureDry. If you find yourself unable to contact professionals in time, you can put preventative measures in place that will create a solid wall between leaking water and your home’s ceiling. The first step to being able to conduct successful preventative maintenance is knowing where water pools on or within a vulnerable ceiling.

The Common Causes of Ceiling Water Damage

Most ceiling water damage happens because of a random, high-power weather extremity. While there are cases of internal exposure like leaky pipes on a top floor or a broken washing machine funneling water throughout a house, heavy rainfall is the main perpetrator in complex ceiling water damage. 

The most common cases of ceiling leaks are caused by weather-induced leaks, clogged gutters, or punctured walls. Although heavy rain can come on fast, there is power in knowing where to direct your attention. Do not let the overwhelming nature of a ceiling leak turn your head away from the root cause of the damage, whatever it may be.

What Are the Common Reasons for Water Damage To Your Ceiling?

Although we recommend being knowledgeable about the full range of motion water damage has, here are PureDry’s most commonly seen reasons for water damage to a home ceiling:

Extreme Weather

Washington experiences its fair share of elevated snowfall. With this normality, it is essential to implement precautionary measures that touch every corner of your home’s ceiling. Storms, heavy rain, and hurricanes aren’t going anywhere in Idaho, and neither should preventative maintenance.

Clogged Gutters

Gutters act as an external layer of protection against water damage for not only your ceiling but also the overall structure of your home. If your home’s gutters become clogged by eroded leaves, twigs, or dirt, they will lose their ability to fully block out streams of rainwater. It is important to exponentially check your gutters for clogs that could compromise their integral job: safeguarding your ceiling from water exposure.

AC unit

AC units are built to funnel clean air around a room without inhibition. Because this air touches every corner of a home as instructed, there is potential for the air to soak into your ceiling and create a moisture-excessive environment. If your AC unit was installed incorrectly, this can also create unwanted leaks that can be absorbed by your ceiling.

Leaky pipes

Your Idaho home is very likely powered by multiple pipe-heavy systems, from drainage pipes stationed in your ceiling or an overflowing supply pipe. Watch out for increased pipe bursts or leaks at the time of a weather phenomenon such as Idaho snowfall or severe rain.

Sprinkler systems

Fire sprinklers are commonplace in ceilings as they are used to immediately flush out electrical fires above your home. However, these sprinkler systems can malfunction and spray unnecessary water over the perimeter of your ceiling. Make sure to check the functionality of your fire sprinklers before an unfortunate flood takes place.

What Does Water Damage On a Ceiling Look Like?

Manifesting in a similar way to mold, water damage physically manifests in wet areas in an obvious way. You won’t be able to miss the brown, moldy patches forming on the corner of your ceiling, or door casings virtually popping off of their foundation. Learn how to spot signs of water damage on your ceiling by knowing what to look for:

Brown Patches

These brown, odorous patches look like handprints left on a clear glass: hard to miss. Moisture-excessive areas will form darkened patches on your ceilings, indicating a chance for mold to form within 48 hours.

Moldy Patches

Moldy patches show up similarly to brown patches, as they are both a darker shade than your ceiling. These patches will carry a wet smell that has the potential to carry toxic pathogens. Stray away from these moldy areas to shield your nose as well as your overall health.

Swollen walls and door casings

When water builds up in your walls, the water will inevitably drip to your doors. The casing around your doors will take on the most prominent signs of water exposure, swelling up to look almost off the hinges.

Decorative features separating from the walls 

You can expect art and other decorative elements from your walls to take on cryptic signs of water damage. Check behind your picture frames for scattered mold spores looking to take down your health.

Sweating 

Forming in beads of sweat, water can drip down your ceiling, snaking through and around the duration. Look out for patches of centralized sweat for a clear sign of water exposure to your ceiling.

What Happens When The Ceiling Gets Wet?

When your ceiling gets wet, there is no hiding the unwanted aesthetic losses and potential health hazards. Tearing down the sleek and comfortable look of a home, moisture-doused ceilings are a threat to every aspect of a home. 

Avoid the unsightly consequences of a wet ceiling by allowing PureDry to restore your wet, compromised ceiling. Take back your ceiling and avoid unfortunate effects like:

It Looks Unattractive

Any decorative measures you’ve taken to create a soft, inviting space will be peeled off by dripping, running, or leaking water. Water centered in the middle of a ceiling can form unpleasant bubbling or drooping, an unavoidable presence for friends and family. 

Mold Infestation

Darkened spots are a key sign of water exposure to your drywall ceilings, showing up in brown or black. This presence will spread into a full-fledged infestation if left untreated.

Fire Hazard 

Although precautionary fire sprinklers exist above most ceilings, the presence of water in your ceiling increases the chance of an electrical fire. 

Slip and Fall Accidents 

Flooding usually creates scattered puddles when it’s finished surging, creating a potential for slipping or falling. Avoid accidents by having your water-damaged home professionally stripped of standing water.

Rising Utility Bills

The insulation system of your entire home will be impacted negatively by water damage. You can expect higher power bills when your ceiling has been compromised by standing or contaminated water.

How Do You Fix a Water-Damaged Ceiling?

Moving with a purpose is imperative for your ceiling’s restoration process. To be successful enough to minimize time, effort, and costs, you need to quickly contact a professional water damage restoration service provider for a seamless transition back to normal.

Prevent an Escalation

Attempt to minimize further damage by implementing a few basic rescue techniques, like putting down a tarp or moving personal property to an isolated dry location. If you feel that the water collecting in your ceiling is building up rather than moving, you can create an opening for it to flow through. 

Hire a Contractor

Hire a professional contractor to assess the severity of your ceiling’s water damage. With that knowledge, they can intently create a restoration plan that incorporates drying and additional prevention.

Dry the Moisture 

Drying the impacted areas with the help of a professional water restoration service is optimal for successful rehabilitation. Professionals will utilize a high-powered water extraction system to fully extract contaminated water from your ceiling.

Replace the Ceiling

If all other efforts fail, you may need to simply replace your damaged ceiling. This can be done at home or by a professional, but we recommend partnering with a professional restoration company for this complex repair. Do not attempt to replace your ceiling in chunks, as it adds additional time to the process that could be spent installing a uniform replacement. 

Best Ways To Prevent Water Damage To Your Home

All methods of preventing water damage come down to investigation. You can catch signs of water exposure early on by either implementing frequent examinations yourself or by enlisting a water damage expert to catch the unsuspecting signs. Consider these preventive measures for blocking out water damage to your home:

Check Hoses and Faucets

Cold water tears apart hoses, faucets, and pipes by forming ice. Once cold weather formed by harsh weather has frozen, it expands within your home pipes, causing leaks. Check these outlets before cold weather to ensure durability.

Clean Gutters and Downspouts

Clear out your gutters pre-storm so they can properly filter water back out onto the street and away from your home. Downspouts under fire cannot allow water to pass through them, creating another blockage.

Keep Trees Trimmed

Move your plants and trees away from your home by planting them a distance away. You indirectly minimize the chance of roots impacting your pipes by creating a healthy distance between your home and surrounding trees.

Look for Leaks, Mold, and Cracks

Look for commonplace signs of leaks, creating mold presence and obvious cracks. Your walls will appear dark, moldy, and unpleasant if water-doused. 

Monitor Water Pressure

Water pressure that is either too high or too low can cause a slew of internal damage to your pipes. You can purchase a monitor at your local home improvement store to gauge the potentially lethal pressure of your water source.

Watch Your Water Bill

If your water bill is unusually high, this is most likely due to a malfunction in your water system. A leaky, dripping, or broken faucet can deregulate your water supply, forcing you to take on a higher bill.

Know How to Shut Off Water Main

When it comes time to shut off your water system, know where and how to successfully turn it off. Be cognizant of the location so you can easily access it when needed.

Inspect the Roof and Chimney

This prevention method may take longer than others but is imperative for preventing cryptic leaks. Check your roof and chimney for small openings that could allow the passage of water, even in increments. 

Install Water Alarms

Water alarms are an advanced way to monitor water’s presence in your room. They work by alarming you when water has touched down in any area of your home, from your bathroom to your kitchen. 

How Do You Fix a Water-Damaged Ceiling?

Get real about your water-damaged ceiling by knowing what steps are necessary to repair it back to its full potential. These simplified restoration steps are recommended by us at PureDry because we understand what it takes to be intentional about restoration. Restore your water-damaged roof with a purpose by following these comprehensive steps:

Locate and Stop the Water Source

Locate the source of the leak and turn off its power. Prevent further flooding from occurring by shutting off all sources of leaking flooding, or puddling.

Dry the Ceiling

At PureDry, we will expertly handle this step for you. We provide full-service drying procedures that don’t allow for excess water to live on in your home. A tarp is a good additional precaution to place down as it will allow the water to absorb through an alternative surface.

Remove the Damaged Parts

Work around the damaged parts of your ceiling by removing areas that cannot recover from complex water damage. Cut around them if necessary, as this will allow for a smooth clean-up process once all water has been removed.

Repair the Ceiling

Trust us at PureDry to repair your ceiling in one specialized go. We perform expert ceiling repairs by reinstalling clean, damage-free drywall in your home. You can expect all preventive maintenance to already be installed at the time of the replacement.

Paint the Ceiling

After all repairs have been completed, you need to transition your ceiling back to normal by painting them. Choose your shade and reform the atmosphere of your home by allowing PureDry to put the finishing touches on your repaired ceiling.

Trust PureDry for Expert Ceiling Water Damage Restoration

For several positive reasons, PureDry Restoration remains Washington’s leading water damage removal and restoration service provider. We’re locally-renowned, experienced, and willing to demonstrate exactly why Washington residents choose us: 

• 24/7 Availability: Around-the-clock service is available in the Seattle area to customers experiencing complex, expert-demanding water damage.

• Professional Services: All of our services are conducted with superior professionalism, customer service, and execution.

• Areas Covered: No facet of water damage will go untreated with PureDry’s comprehensive restoration services.

• Thorough Restoration: Our processes are meticulous enough to guarantee uninhibited living post-water damage.