What are the things that can cause water damage to a home? A torrential flood, pouring rain, and heavy snow are a few of those things. Hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, and other extreme weather conditions that are accompanied by water are also things that can cause major damage.
These weather-induced events can easily destroy a house. One surge and an entire wall or even the entire structure can go down. However, it doesn’t have to take a strong blizzard, a sudden flood, or even a light rain to cause severe water damage. Water, whether in massive flows or in small measurements, can both cause extensive amounts of damage to a home. The destructive power of water should never be underestimated.
The presence of a little bit of water is easy to disregard. It might not seem to amount to much at first, but that little bit can already pose a big threat to a home. All it takes is a tiny, but constant dripping to wreck ceilings, walls, stairs, and wooden floors. A little trickle of water is already a potential cause of a hazardous electrical fire if it reaches appliances, electronics, and sockets around the house. A small yet steady dribbling of water is a way to silently sabotage the entire structural foundation of a home, especially if it is left neglected over a long period of time. Once that little bit of water gets to an area where it shouldn’t be, homeowners already need to look out and prepare for water damage.
The Damage Water Can Do
Water can deal a lot of structural, physical, financial, and even emotional damage. To be able to successfully prevent water damage from starting, homeowners first need to know the damage that water can do to their homes. Here is a list of some of the common consequences of water damage in a home:
- Roofs collapse when water collecting in blocked gutters and drains becomes too heavy
- Drywalls become soft and fall apart once they get soaked with water
- Floors, stairs, panels, and other things made out of wooden materials swell, disintegrate, and rot
- Tiles, paints, and wallpapers crack, lift, and peel off when water gets in between them
- Carpets, draperies, curtains, clothes, and other textiles become permanently stained with water marks
- Couches, chairs, tables, and other furniture turn filthy, moldy, and damp
- Expensive electronics, appliances, tools, and equipment stop working
- Electrical sockets and outlets may cause a fire or even a deadly electrocution once they get wet
- Important documents become unreadable, personal book collections become soggy, and family heirlooms may be damaged beyond repair
- Waterborne diseases that breed in the stagnant water cause various health problems for the home’s inhabitants
- Dirty water contaminates drinking water especially if pipes aren’t sealed properly
- The home’s entire structure becomes dangerously unstable once water saturates integral parts of the foundation
These are only a few examples of how water can damage a home. While extreme weather events can cause these damages, they can as easily be caused by human error too. A broken dishwasher, a faulty pipe, a forgotten faucet left running – these are some human mistakes that contribute to the billions of dollars worth of property lost to water damage each year.
9 Ways to Prevent Water Damage
There is no need to hire professionals for preventing water damage from starting at home. The following are 9 simple ways that homeowners can follow to prevent water from damaging their homes.
1 - Check All Household Appliances
The first way to prevent water damage is to check all household appliances. These include the washing machine, the dryer, the dishwasher, the refrigerator, air conditioning systems, and water heaters.
The hoses on any household appliance that features them should always be inspected. They should always be maintained and kept in tiptop shape. Any hose that shows signs of wear and tear should be repaired or replaced immediately. Hoses should also be firmly attached to the connectors on household appliances.
Make sure that the drainages and filters on all household appliances are clear and free from debris. They can easily cause water damage if they are not able to drain properly and completely. Once an appliance takes noticeably longer to drain, then it is a sign that the drain or filter is clogged and needs to be changed.
It is not normal for any household appliance to leak or cause moisture to form in its surrounding area. If it does any of these, it might be time to bring it in for repair or to shop around for a new replacement.
2 – Buy Only Quality Household Appliances
In line with number one, homeowners should only invest in household appliances that have made the grade. This means that not only should they have been made by a reputable company, but they should also have passed safety tests and quality standards. It may be tempting to buy cheaper things from unknown brands, but the hidden costs of constantly repairing and preventing the risks of water damage will make it more expensive in the long run.
3 – Check All Plumbing
The third way to prevent water damage is to check all plumbing inside the house. Checking all plumbing includes sinks, showers, bathtubs, and toilets.
Make it a habit to check under kitchen sinks and bathroom sinks. The drainage pipes should not be leaking. Don’t forget to check around the sink. If water is collecting in an area other than the basin itself, then it can be an indicator that something is loose in the main parts of the faucet.
Check the areas around showers and bathtubs for cracks, holes, and other openings where water might leak. Seal these closed right away. If the walls or floors around showers and bathtubs remain wet long after someone has used them, then it could be a sign that a supply line or a drain pipe is damaged.
As much as possible, do not hang or place deodorizers, decorations, sanitizers, and the likes near toilet bowls. These are often the cause of toilets clogging and causing water damage at home.
4 – Keep Appliances and Plumbing Clean
Well-maintained appliances do more work, need less repairs, and have lower risks for water damage. Plumbing that is always kept clean removes water from a home efficiently and keeps drainages from being clogged. Maintaining household appliances and plumbing can go a long way in preventing water damage.
5 – Inspect All Pipes
As pipes and plumbing are often behind walls, under floors, or through ceilings, always be on the lookout for suspicious water stains. If there is a water blot showing through a wall, a floorboard, or a ceiling panel, then it could mean that one of the pipes is busted and leaking.
To prevent faulty plumbing, schedule a regular checkup of all pipes in the house. If the house is a little old, then all the more should pipes be placed under thorough inspection. Replace anything cracked, leaking, and rusty.
6 - Check All Doors and Windows
All doors and windows should be properly installed in a home. If they are letting too much air or rain in even when they are closed, then they need to be removed and reinstalled. Ensure that all seals are closed tight so that water is not able to seep through them.
7 – Always Inspect the Roof
Because it is constantly exposed, the roof can deteriorate a lot quicker than the rest of the house. Conduct a periodic inspection of the roof to check if the roofing materials can still withstand the elements or not. Replace anything that has cracked and cover anything that has opened up.
Clear gutters and drains from dirt and debris that may have collected in them. Water should be able to drain from the roof without any obstructions. Consider cutting off tree branches that hang right over the roof. The leaves falling from trees can easily block gutters and drains and become a source of a water damage problem.
Homeowners might want to invest in doubling the insulation on their roofs not only to keep the inside of their house warm, but also to prevent ice dams from forming during the winter season.
8 – Keep Valuables in a Safe
Water damage can never be 100 percent completely prevented from starting in a home, so think and act ahead. Keep all important documents, books, photographs, and other things of value that are vulnerable to water damage in a safe.
9 – Install Water Alarms
If there are fire alarms, then there are water alarms. Consider investing in inexpensive water alarms that give off a warning sound when it senses moisture. These are very effective when placed in an area with high water damage risk such as under sinks or in the bathroom.
Some water alarms can be connected directly to household appliances. Once it senses that the appliance is producing more water than it is supposed to, the water alarm immediately shuts off the appliance’s water supply. A similar alarm that shuts off the main water supply can also be used for the entire house.
Once you made this list a part of your regular household check, you’ll realize that you are already a step forward preventing water damages. Employing simple skills and forming helpful habits are all homeowners need to do to effectively stop water damage dead in its tracks.
