Water damage can happen everywhere and anytime. It could be a small leak or a flash flood. It could ruin your carpet as well as your whole house. The good news is, water damage can easily be prevented by doing routine checks. There are a hundred telltale signs that will help you see if your home is suffering from water damage.

Discoloration: Any unusual discoloration on your walls is a cause for alarm. This could mean that you have busted pipes behind those walls.

Any unusual stains on your ceilings should be investigated immediately. Ceilings could cave in if it is already filled with too much water.

Brown tinges on your metal pipes could indicate some minor water damage. If left unchecked, this could lead to rust and to bigger problems. Check also your window frames for

Water Pool: Presence of water pool around your refrigerator is usually caused by two things- a missing or cracked drip pan, or a leak in the water line for your ice maker. Either of the two could cause water damage and should be treated as soon as possible.

Presence of mold and mildew is also a good indicator of water damage. This comes with a strong musty so even if you don't see the mold, you would still know that your house has some water damage.

Soggy carpets can mean that a water pool has already formed underneath it. This is usually accompanied by a musky smell.

Water pools around your sink can be due to busted or leaking pipes. This should be treated as soon as possible as small leaks can still cause pipes to burst over time. If there is a water pool outside of your home, check your roof. It could already be leaking and rust could have started to form already.

Warping, Swelling and Cracking: Warping and swelling of vinyl is a sign that your floor is suffering from water damage. Formica and plywood would delaminate when damaged with water. If the paint on your walls are slowly peeling or had formed cracks, it could be a sign that some water had seeped out. This could, later on, form bulges filled with water.

Other Signs: Check for slow draining pipes. It could be a signal that you have a busted one or that your pipes have a lot of blockages and need to be cleaned out. Blocked pipes can lead to major water damages.

Water damage is also the culprit in rotten wood. Water causes wood to rot and can also trigger the presence of termites.

If, after you have turned off all water inside your house, your meter still goes spinning around, then you might have a busted pipe. Check which pipe is busted and have it repaired at once.

To ensure that your home is not infiltrated by water, regularly walk around it and look for the signs that we have mentioned. Check your walls, floors and ceilings inside-out. Regularly clean your gutter to ensure that no leaves or any kind of debris get stuck in your downspouts. Remember, with water damage, it is not just your house which is at stake but your health as well.