The Prevention of Water Damage

Unless a flood or a hurricane is what causes the water damage to your home, the water damage that we have to deal with is usually highly preventable. Most kinds of water damage that are not caused by mother nature are things that we can prevent, although sometimes we tend to forget just how to go about stopping these things from happening. You can prevent water damage to the inside of your home from most sources, but the question is just how do you do it?

One thing that you can do is pay attention to your water heater and make sure that it is located on the lowest floor of your home, preferably the basement. It should be elevated off the floor and in some kind of large drain pan connected to plumbing in the floor so if it does begin to leak, any water will go straight from the unit down into the plumbing system. This will stop most water damage to your floor, especially if your water heater is located on top of a wooden floor instead of a concrete one.

The pipes and hoses that lead to your dishwasher and your washing machine can be some of the worst offenders. These leak more often than people realize, but keeping a check on them regularly for cracked spots or weakened areas can be the key to preventing a huge spill. If it busts and you are not home, even a crack just 1/8 of an inch wide can leak up to 250 gallons an hour into your floor.

If you live in a home and not an apartment, you probably have to deal with cleaning our your rain gutters every fall when the leaves change color and begin to fall from the trees. These gutters are important to keeping the rain from settling around the foundation of your home and allowing it to sink into the ground. Clean out these gutters fully every year and make sure that the downspouts are also clear of any debris.

Repairing any leaks that might be in your roof is also essential to preventing water damage to your ceilings and the insulation in your attic, especially if the insulation is fiberglass. Once this insulation gets wet, it does not work anymore and will eventually cause your ceiling to collapse if it is not removed and replaced as soon as possible.


Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
North Carolina Mold Remediation and other states such as
New Jersey Sewage Damage Cleanup companies across the united states.