Surface Tension- Wenatchee and Leavenworth Home Inspection
Is this a grimace on your face? No!
What I am talking about is liquids, mainly water and a strange force it exerts called surface tension.
Surface tension occurs between molecules on an upper layer of a liquid that does not have a neighbor above to share its cohesive forces with. This causes a stronger attraction of the intermolecular force on these surface molecules that develops a film.
Why is this important to a home inspector and the process of performing a home inspection?
Because of this phenomenon water does not always play nice and act as it should. It can overcome that constant force of gravity.
So during a home inspection the evaluation of a potential leak may not be as it seems. Water will bind to materials and can flow laterally, sometimes great distances before an obstacle or gravity finally wins. It can even flow uphill of there enough air pressure to cause it to do so.
When a leak is found the obvious would be to say the leak is in the general area of the stain or indication of moisture. But this can be far from the truth and further evaluation will need to be performed to find the area where the leak is occurring.
Sometimes a home inspector can have enough information to find the cause and sometimes we cannot. As home inspectors we are limited to a more visual investigation and at times this indication will need a more invasive investigation.
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NCW Home Inspections, LLC is a Licensed Washington State Home Inspection service located in Wenatchee Washington serving Chelan County, Douglas County, Kittitas County, Okanogan County and Grant County Washington and the cities of Wenatchee, Leavenworth, Cashmere, Orville, Cle Elum, East Wenatchee, Quincy and many more…
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