Spotting And Dealing With Water-Damaged Drywall

Spotting And Dealing With Water-Damaged Drywall

7 March 2022
 Categories: , Blog


Water damage from busted pipes or even natural disasters can cause extensive damage to homes. Carpets, floors, and furniture are often severely damaged, but what about your home's drywall?

When you think of water damage, most homeowners worry about the floors, but the walls are also a concern. Here's what you need to know about water-damaged drywall.

Is Wet Drywall Ruined?

Drywall is a pretty tough material and sustains minimal damage if it's not exposed to water for too long. So, if you can address the water damage quickly, the drywall can retain its structural integrity.

If you don't address the water damage quickly enough, drywall softens, weakens, and may grow mold. Water in the walls can also cause rotting, corrosion, and even electrical hazards.

For the best chance of survival for your drywall, water damage restoration must take place immediately and preferably within 24 hours.

  • Open doors and windows to speed up drying
  • Use humidifiers in the affected rooms
  • Use heavy-duty fans for good air circulation to speed drying

If you need help, call in a professional in emergency water damage repair. The professionals use effective tools, like moisture meters and infrared imaging, to determine the degree of damage.

Should Wet Drywall Be Replaced?

Yes, wet drywall that doesn't dry quickly enough often requires replacement. This is because the material is no longer structurally sound. Water also causes mold to form on the porous drywall material.

Water damage restoration professionals can help determine the extent of the damage. They also advise on if and when drywall requires replacement.

How Quicky Does Mold Grow On Wet Drywall?

Mold grows quickly when it has just the right environment to thrive. Humid and dark areas are susceptible to mold growth from tiny spores that float through the air both indoors and outdoors.

Mold spores land and grow quickly. For this reason, it's important to act quickly to dry wet drywall within 24 to 48 hours after water damage.

How Do You Know If It's Time For Drywall Replacement?

After water damage, even the best attempts at drying out your walls may fail. So, keep an eye on your walls and look for these signs of drywall damage that require replacement.

  • Damp smells
  • Mold
  • Discoloration
  • Sagging
  • Bulging

Any of these signs may indicate your drywall suffered extensive water damage. Extensive damage isn't repairable. To remove the mold and damage, you have to replace the drywall.

Water damage affects many areas of the home, so when doing water damage restoration, don't overlook your walls and drywall.

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Do you like saving things? Perhaps you enjoy saving things from the landfill, or maybe you like setting aside things you have not yet needed, but may need later. Restoration is a form of saving things. By restoring an item, you give it a new use. You preserve its value, and you keep it from being hauled away as trash. Because of this, we really think there is value in restoration, and in learning more about restoration. Take a look at the articles we post here, and you'll learn a little more about the repair and restoration process as you go.

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