If you are ever the victim of water damage, resist the temptation to mop it up and tell yourself that you had a near miss. If you think that your walls/floor etc will dry out automatically you may rue the day that you just walked away from the risk.

If you see a mysterious wet spot on your ceiling, or hear a squelch as you step onto your living room carpet - treat it seriously. What you see could be the result of a minor accident or it could be the tip of the iceberg. 

The resulting damage from a water leak can be devastating - and so can the bill. Often there is damage that cannot be seen until searched for by an experienced plumber. Imagine if the carpet is wet, it may be impossible to pull it up without spoiling your living room, but still the wetness does not necessarily end at the carpet tufts.

The underlay, the hardwood floor, the wooden framing, the insulation that is between the floors and perhaps the dry wall of the ceiling below may all be wet before the carpet catches your attention. Wet dry wall that remains soggy will warp and alter the shape of your walls and ceiling. Also dampness in the wooden frame of your home can encourage termites and rot. Two types of rot are most common in house timbers: wet rot and dry rot. The insidious decay can spread very quickly once it has taken hold.

Water damage in the home is usually caused in three main ways, some easier to spot than others. A broken pipe, or a leaking pipe, that is under a slab floor or inside a wall is the obvious way and probably the most common. It is also common for a clog in the pipes to cause a back-up into the shower, wash basin or toilet. Sometimes a dishwasher/washer/refrigerator can leak so slowly that it goes unnoticed. Finally, an old or damaged house can weaken in a rain storm and roofs, windows and joints can let water in.

If you are unlucky enough to detect water leaking, it is best to call a plumber, or roofing contractor, depending on the location of the water. It is often difficult to trace a leak, and the damp patch may not be where the leak originates. In the case of roof leaks, a drip may drop onto a beam and run along one or two feet before finally dropping onto the ceiling below. You will need to get up in the attic and look for the origin of the leak.

Leaks in pipes are also  tedious to find, and if you have long lengths of submerged pipe you may benefit from the services of video camera imaging to 'look' at pipes that are otherwise inaccessible.

Fast action can halt permanent damage.To minimize water damage, a home owner has to be ruthless in performing the  two key tasks:  mopping up and ventilating. This may mean pulling up carpets and underlay, lifting linoleum and cutting open walls to dry them out quickly. Home heating can be turned on and  fans and de-humidifiers will speed up the process. Dampness that is dried quickly will hardly ever cause mold.

To be safe, keep the drying process up for four or five  days. If the leakage is from an unclean water source, then also apply an anti-microbial spray to sterilize the areas. 

If you wish to insure that you will be dealing with a reliable plumbing or roofing company, check the list of contractors that the Better Business Bureau recommends and ask your neighbors for any recommendations.

Joshua Sloan is an experienced San Diego real estate agent. Visit his site at SanDiegoRealEstateBuzz.com for help finding new homes with the San Diego MLS listings.