If drywall gets wet, do you always have to replace it? That’s what Janine, a fan, asks.
Her toilet and bathtub backed up and flooded three rooms. She said it looks like the water line is just at 6 inches on the drywall. Let’s be clear: The drywall, in this case, absorbed enough of the standing water, but that doesn’t mean 6 inches of water saturated the drywall.
So, if it’s a single incident when water gets on drywall, that doesn’t mean it has to be replaced. However, if the water actually saturated the drywall for an hour, then it would have to be replaced. If water soaks through and gets into the insulation and the framing, and doesn’t dry out, you’ll have mold and mildew.
That’s why, at the onset of any water damage, you need to set up a bunch of fans and turn them on to dry out the area.
Make sure there are no signs of black mold after everything has dried. Then paint the wall with moisture-resistant paint. This will prevent bigger problems if a similar incident occurs.
Listen to the Today’s Homeowner Podcast for more home improvement tips!
Question of the Week
Q: I have a wooden garden gate and posts, and the carpenter bees and woodpeckers have riddled them! The posts are set in concrete, so I don’t want to replace them. What can I use to fill the holes, and how can I convince them to ‘drill’ somewhere else?
A: Apply two or three coats of auto body filler to the holes in the wood gate and posts. Then, you can decide how to repel birds and bees.Birds peck wood if they’re looking for bugs or a nest or drumming. Try using bird diverters or holographic reflective tape, which can be used to scare the birds away.
You can use a one-liter soda bottle to create a carpenter bee trap. Or, try using Boric acid to repel the bees.
