This Used to Be Steel
Steel and water don’t mix. That’s mainly because steel is steel, not a powdery substance that you mix into a cup of milk, add two spoonfuls of sugar, and drink while sitting in front of a fireplace. The longer you leave steel columns and beams exposed to moisture, the worse of a time you’ll have trying to fix the problem.
Believe it or not, that mushy-looking beam in the above picture is steel. Well, it was steel until water came into the picture. The steel beam might be good for another month or two before it needs to be replaced entirely.