What materials can be damaged by water?

While some materials, such as concrete and steel, are generally immune to damage if they get wet, others, such as wooden posts and beams, plywood, wall panels, insulation, interior accessories and furniture, and some doors and windows, are at risk of damage and require protection against them. Think of all the places where you have wood in your house. You may have hardwood floors, wooden baseboards, wooden cabinets, entertainment centers, dining tables and chairs, etc. So when your home suffers water damage from a natural disaster, a broken appliance, or other related source, that water can have a huge impact on the wood in your home.

Water damage can cause wood to rot, weaken and warp until it is irreparable. One of the easiest ways to reduce potential water damage to your home is to ensure that it's built with water resistant materials or materials that aren't prone to absorbing water. Because soil is often placed directly on concrete foundations, water damage can cause bubbles to form under the floor, break joints and other forms of deterioration. By contrast, structural damage, such as deformed or bent wooden beams, cracked bricks or concrete from swelling, and other physical reactions tend to occur within a few hours or days after the initial water damage.

However, it is not difficult to conclude the performance of materials based on these characteristics; obviously, materials that are highly permeable, porous and that absorb large amounts of water are more likely to cause problems in the event of water damage than those that are largely impermeable, non-porous and do not absorb moisture. Other damage takes longer to develop and is due to the continuous presence of water or to the poorly drying of the material over time. Therefore, librarians and others who are faced with decisions that are due to severe flooding and water damage as a result of the aftermath of a fire, and the resulting exposure to water damage, must be reminded that replacement is almost always much less expensive than rescue and restoration. In most cases of water damage, you'll likely need to replace the carpet pad if it's been affected by water.

However, if water damage occurs, there are still steps you can take to minimize the damage and recover from it. It is also worth noting that none of these basic characteristics of the material directly speaks of the propensity of the material to develop mold, fungi, bacteria, or any other harmful microorganism due to exposure or water damage. You can then make the best choices to deal with water damage and minimize the lasting negative effects it can have. The main properties of materials intersect with environmental factors and exposure to water or moisture to define the probability and extent of water damage.

Not all water damage is due to massive floods or major natural disasters; sometimes it's internal problems that cause major problems. Depending on the extent of water damage to the carpet, you may not need to tear it off and start from scratch.