Water damage accounts for 25% of all home-insurance claims in the US and 37% of homeowners admit to loss of property due to water damage. That is, more than one out of three homeowners has experienced water damage and checking your own home for any signs of it can help you avoid being part of the statistics.

When any part of your home is continually exposed to moisture, the dampened area turns soft. It becomes the ideal place for termites to breed in and for molds to spore. Termites and molds can cause major structural damage to the home over a very short period of time.

Visual signs

Obvious signs of moisture build-up are dampness, dripping, leaking and flooding. A drippy faucet or shower should not be ignored. Don't make it part of your daily life, fix it immediately. It will save you a lot of money and protect your home from excessive humidity that can escalate to water damage.

If moisture build-up are hidden behind walls, under slabs or floors, or within the ceiling however, they can be very hard to detect and other methods of observation are required.

Water stains

Water stains on the ceiling or walls indicate dripping from the roof, or leaking behind a wall. Ceiling stains tend to be circular with browning at the edges. Water stains on a wall are wide where the leakage start and thins out as it moves downward. There is also browning at the edges.

Coolness in the air

Humidity and coolness in the air can give-away the presence of moisture. If a room or a basement is unusually cool, somewhere in there, moisture is evaporating. Find the source, fix it, and keep your living space dry. It will make a huge difference in the preservation of your home.

Damp surfaces

If a surface, like a wall, feels a little damp, you can be sure there is a source causing that dampness. Whether it is a pinhole leak, dripping from a loose pipe connection, or water flow from drainage or a loosely sealed window during rain, repair the fault immediately. Even if the dampness is seasonal, maintenance of the home against water damage should be a year-round practice.

Musty smell

A rank, musty odor can indicate the presence of moisture and molds too. Toxic mold gives off a distinct odor. If your place smells of molds, look where they are hiding and perform mold remediation. This includes getting rid of the moisture that molds need for survival.

Listening for leaks

It may be a tiny dripping or gushing noise that sounds far-off, but if you hear unexplainable water movement during the dead of the night, it could be that behind your walls or under a concrete slab in the garden, leakage is present. In some rare cases, seepage is quickly absorbed by the ground or by material behind the wall leaving no trace of dampness from above or the outside. If your ears tell you something is not right, go and investigate.

Spiking water bills

Did your water bill escalate suddenly? If you made no changes to water usage yet your water costs indicate you are using more water, it's a sign you've got water problems. Either someone is stealing water from your home or you are losing it to leaking. Do you know that a 1/8th of an inch crack in a water pipe can yield 250 gallons of water a day?

These are just some of the signs to observe in order to prevent water damage. Regular observation, maintenance, and vigilance against water damage will result in lesser costs and a long lifetime of your home.