Restored with Premier Restoration of the Carolinas

Beneath the Surface: Why Ignoring Water Damage Could Cost You Everything

• Tim Rhoades • Episode 2

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 Let's Talk About Water Damage And The Potential Dangers It Can Create

That puddle you mopped up last week? It might still be silently destroying your home from the inside out. Water damage expert Tim Rhoades pulls back the curtain on what happens beneath the surface when moisture infiltrates your living spaces.

Most homeowners dramatically underestimate water damage, believing that visible moisture is the only concern. Tim reveals why this thinking is dangerous - mold begins forming in just 36 hours, making even a weekend leak potentially hazardous. From weakened structural elements to hidden electrical hazards, the consequences of improper water remediation extend far beyond what meets the eye.

When Skip shares his recent kitchen flood experience, Tim explains why even tile floors offer little protection. Water penetrates grout lines, travels down wall cavities, and can emerge in completely unexpected locations. The conversation explores critical warning signs homeowners should watch for: black spots on sheetrock, mold growing through electrical outlets, and discoloration on furniture backs. Tim's expert insights highlight the crucial difference between DIY cleanup and professional restoration, including the specialized equipment professionals use to detect moisture invisible to the naked eye.

Whether you've experienced a major flood or a minor leak, this episode provides essential knowledge for protecting your home's structural integrity and your family's health. Water damage doesn't announce itself with sirens and flashing lights - it works quietly, methodically, and destructively. Listen now to discover when to handle water issues yourself and when to call the professionals who can prevent a small problem from becoming a costly disaster.

Have you experienced water damage in your home? Share your story and questions with us, and subscribe to Restored for more expert insights on turning disasters into fresh starts.

To learn more about Premier Restoration of the Carolinas visit:
https://www.PremierRestorationoftheCarolinas.com
Premier Restoration of the Carolinas
888-847-2214

Speaker 1:

Welcome to Restored with premier restoration of the Carolinas, where we turn floods, fires and moldy mayhem into clean slates and fresh starts, hosted by Tim Rhodes, the guy who's been knee-deep in disaster, so you don't have to be. If your home or business has been through it, don't panic, tim's here to talk recovery, restoration and everything in between. Let's get things restored.

Speaker 2:

You may mop up a spill and think the worst is over, but when it comes to water damage, the real threat often hides beneath the surface, from health hazards to structural nightmares. Tim Rhodes lays out why ignoring water damage could cost you more than you think. Welcome back everybody. Skip Monty, co-host slash producer, back in the studio with Tim Rhodes, owner of Premier Restoration of the Carolinas. Tim, how's it going? It's going good. How are you, skip? I'm doing just fine. Always good to sit down with somebody who knows firsthand with water damage what it can really do behind the scenes. So while we got you, let's talk about water damage and the potential dangers it can create.

Speaker 3:

Well, you know it's got several potential dangers. So it could, over time it could damage the structural integrity of your house. It's got electrical hazards. It's health risk. It can weaken the structure If it sits in over time. You know it can corrode metal, penetrate through your drywall, create mold. It just creates an unhealthy living environment.

Speaker 2:

Well, right before we went into the studio, I was telling you I just had a flood in my kitchen and I thought I had it covered. But now I'm kind of worried. I had tile in the kitchen but I got it dried up pretty quick, like within. I think it started about 15 minutes before I got in there. But I probably should have that checked out, shouldn't I?

Speaker 2:

well, it never hurts, yeah, yeah, yeah, the mold thing kind of scares me. Speaking of that, what would you say is the biggest hidden danger that homeowners overlook when it comes to water damage?

Speaker 3:

people like me mold, mold yeah, if it gets into the wall through the sheetrock and gets inside the walls and gets the insulation wet, it can just sit there and mold and then you've got mold in your house that you don't notice there and you start getting breathing problems. Then you start realizing there's something going on.

Speaker 2:

How quickly does mold start to form after a water event?

Speaker 3:

You're going to put me on the spot on that one. I think it was 36 hours. It'll start growing. I believe I would have to go back and check, but you put me on the spot on that one. I believe it's around 36 hours, which they don't take it. It don't take it long.

Speaker 2:

Very quick, that's. I would think that's super quick. Yeah, I'm really stressing now about my kitchen. What steps like somebody like me? What steps should somebody take in the first 24 hours after they had a flood of some type in their house? What should they do?

Speaker 3:

Well, if you have a really big flood, the first thing you should do is call a restoration company, somebody that knows the proper techniques in drying the water and get your house dry again the proper techniques in drying the water and get your house dry again. Sometimes you can. If you catch it fast enough, you can mop it up and clean it up real fast. But if you're going to the grocery store and it's been gone for two hours and it's upstairs bathroom broke a line and it's flooded to your basement, then you've got a lot bigger problem.

Speaker 3:

It just depends on the size of the leap, basically, but make sure it's dry. I know you have to make sure the sheetrock's dry, the insulation's dry, the subfloor is dry and you know when you have tile on your floor and if it makes it through the grout and gets into the subfloor, then you can't get air between your tile and your subfloor. So that's a good place for mold to grow. And same way with the the sheetrock in behind your sheetrock, in your walls. You just have to make sure that you take care of your house.

Speaker 2:

Wow, that's pretty scary actually. Well, how do you differentiate between minor water issues and ones that require professional restoration? Get a professional to tell you.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I mean most restoration companies will come out and we have really nice meters and they'll tell us what's wet and what's dry. We have infrared cameras. We can look at it and see the temperature change in the wall where the water's at. We have meters we can put on the walls and on the floors. We can tell you if it's really wet or if it's not that bad.

Speaker 2:

So good thing to know. So can water damage affect a home? You mentioned structural integrity a while ago that it could affect that. What does that mean Actually? Does it mean the house could fall down?

Speaker 3:

No, you're talking long-term right there. That's something that it's going to take a long time for the structure to get you know any kind of damage. If it's something that's not dealt with and it's been there for years and years, you can see rot, and rot is structural damage wow, have you seen much of that in what you do?

Speaker 2:

oh yeah, yeah, um, wow, well, what? What should we watch for? Like me, for instance, I just had this flood in my house and I think I did a good job getting it up as quickly as I did with a wet vac and mopping and fan and all that, but what should I be watching for? Moving forward, that might indicate damage that you necessarily can't see on the surface?

Speaker 3:

Well, you'll see little mold spots on your sheet rock and if it's, I don't sound like you had a bad enough problem. But sometimes, if it's deep enough, you'll actually see mold growing out through electrical receptacles. But you can. It'll show up on the backs of furniture, like if you have a piece of furniture up against the wall where it don't get much airflow. You'll start to get mold there, and maybe a closet door, but you'll be able to to see it. It'll start putting black spot on sheet rock. It'll show itself.

Speaker 2:

Well, the big thing I'm concerned about, because this was in my kitchen sink and under my kitchen sink and the water was pouring out from the cabinet underneath onto the floor in the kitchen, which was all tile it was standing. It didn't run off real quick, but I think water was running behind the sink down the wall into my basement and then the water went across rafters and dripped out further away.

Speaker 3:

Exactly so, so that water is probably under your kitchen cabinet. It's probably behind some sheet rock, you know. You just have to pay attention to it.

Speaker 2:

So what are you doing tomorrow afternoon? No, I'm kidding, I may need to get you in here, but I think, like I said, I hope and pray. I got it all done, but it's good to know and it's good to know that I've got a professional that can help me out when I need it. So appreciate that and appreciate you pulling back the curtain on what water damage really means, and we again appreciate your insights and we'll catch you in the next episode as we tackle another restoration reality. All right, sounds good. Thanks so much.

Speaker 1:

Have a great rest of the day, thank you thanks for tuning in to restored with premier restoration of the Carolinas. If disaster strikes, don't Google, call the pros. You can reach Tim at 888-847-2241 or visit us online at premierrestorationofthecarolinascom. We'll bring the tools, the team and maybe even the shop vac, Because when things go wrong, we make it right.