As far as symptoms go, swelling and discoloration are not good signs — whether we are talking about a weekend sports injury or the interior walls of a home.
For the homeowner or home buyer, interior walls that are discolored, cracking or swelling serve as a telltale sign of good water gone bad.
When you stop to think about the network of largely hidden pipes and hoses that delivers water to a home’s bathroom, kitchen and laundry room, you can appreciate that you could be a rubber washer or pipe coupling away from a home-damaging leak — a leak that could well go unnoticed for quite some time.
And even now, as you contemplate checking the long-neglected water heater and water lines beneath the kitchen sink, nature seems to have been busy conducting its own test of home waterproofing.
While not of biblical build-an-ark proportions, this year’s spring showers come on top of the record and near-record rainfalls recorded throughout the region last year.
Although increased rainfall has led to an upswing in wet basements, the real external culprits leading to water damage are deficient roof drainage, improper landscaping and misguided construction practices, according to Kenneth Cox of the Washington-based Adler/Cox home-inspection company (www.adlercoxgroup.com).
Mr. Cox says his company’s inspections consistently find water accumulations at foundations, entering basements and crawl spaces as a result of damaged or debris-filled gutters, separated downspouts, inadequate splash blocks and blocked drains.
“Most of these deficiencies are relatively easy to remedy,” Mr. Cox says. “However, we find when it comes to roof and gutters, many homeowners do not perform the preventive maintenance required to mitigate moisture issues.”
He said routine home maintenance should include cleaning gutters in the spring and fall, snaking clogged drains, and visually inspecting the drainage system to ensure it is functioning as it should.
A hedge against potential water damage can also be achieved with proper landscaping. Appropriate grading of the lawn and the channeling of water to run away from the home’s foundation are important preventive measures.
Equally important are the choice and positioning of plants, shrubs and trees. Mr. Cox recommends steering clear of vegetation that requires a great deal of watering near the home’s foundation.
“Overgrown vegetation creates damp environments that promote the growth of molds and wood rot, which can lead to infestation by wood-destroying organisms,” he says.
Check the lawn sprinkler system, as well, Mr. Cox says. One potential source of water damage that can be easily avoided is water spraying on a home’s foundation.
With a move toward increasing living space in existing homes, many homeowners are finishing basements. Often, Mr. Cox says, the work ignores foundation walls that have old, deteriorating or no damp-proofing.
The end result: A foundation wall that is no longer able to breathe with moisture encapsulated behind the new wall.
The resulting increase in humidity and decreased air circulation and light exposure, along with a readily available food source — the cellulose in wood — can prompt mold growth and potentially harmful air.
The Internet provides homeowners and home buyers lots of information about how to identify and mitigate water damage.
Indications of water damage, in addition to swollen and discolored interior walls, are musty odors, mold, rot and insect infestations.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s “A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture, and Your Home” (www.epa.gov/iaq/molds/moldguide.html) provides an overview of causes and health risks. The report includes cleanup and mold mitigation steps homeowners can take.
According to the EPA report, allergic responses to the presence of mold-produced allergens are similar to hay-fever-type symptoms, including sneezing, runny nose, red eyes and skin rashes. The reaction can be immediate or delayed and can also cause asthma attacks in those who are allergic to mold.
A new book issued this month by the Johns Hopkins University Press, “The Mold Survival Guide: For Your Home and for Your Health,” by Jeffrey C. May and Connie L. May, details mold problems and eradication methods and includes photographs — some in color — that show what water damage and mold infestation look like.
Both the Mays’ book and the EPA report say that condensation or moisture collecting on windows, walls or pipes is an indication of high humidity that should not be ignored. The EPA recommends that the wet surface be dried immediately and that the source of the moisture be identified and eliminated.
Many other sources provide information about what to look for in determining potential or existing water damage, including checklists for homeowners and home buyers. Internet search engines such as Google and Yahoo can readily locate a number of related sources.
Most checklists recommend checking the seals of doors and windows, the condition of the roof and spouting, the basement or crawl space, and the landscaping.
The home’s plumbing, including pipes and hoses running to the bathroom, kitchen and laundry room, along with water-heater tanks, are readily identified sources of potential water damage.
Even the smallest leaks should be taken seriously as a potential larger problem.
While recent heavy rainfall might well have increased concerns about water damage among homeowners and home buyers, it has not dampened the area’s real estate industry.
The Federal Reserve’s “Beige Book” — a business activity barometer — indicates that the area’s housing market remains strong, with Washington-area condominiums and co-op properties selling “particularly well.”
The report also indicates strength in Odenton, Md., where “home buyers were said to be ’fighting over houses.’”
All indications are that real estate developers and builders are steadily working, despite the weather, to keep pace with ever-growing demand.
“There has been no slowdown in buyers,” says regional developer and builder Steve Mitchell, whose developments include Abelow Farms near Charles Town in fast-growing Jefferson County, W.Va.
He says that a continuous flow of home buyers is coming from the Washington area and that keeping up with demand presents more of a problem than the weather.
Still, a February 2004 Consumer Reports investigative feature on “hidden defects” in new homes found 15 percent of new homes have serious problems, including an instance in which a family discovered mold in the walls of their 4-month-old home.
The consumer group recommends that home buyers hire a real estate lawyer and a building-inspection engineer.
“A few key clauses in your contract and inspections during construction can save grief later,” the consumer advocacy group says.
Mr. Cox says there are many areas of a property that home buyers should check with a realization that water is a big part of homeownership.
“Water is one of nature’s most destructive forces,” Mr. Cox says. “It will find a way into a property at some time. The job of the homeowner is to ensure that water on the outside is conveyed away and that water that gets in is allowed to escape.”
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