Water is essential for our life; there’s no doubt about that. Water helps us in so many ways we can’t imagine living without it. While being a blessing, sometimes it can also be one of the most destructive forces to attack your Florida home and cause severe damage.
According to Ruby Home, around 14,000 people in the U.S. are affected by water damage daily. To mitigate water damage, it’s important to know what causes water damage and how to prevent water damage in your home.
Knowing the reasons and being vigilant will help you to prevent water damage effects on your property.
What Causes Water Damage?
Severe Weather
Severe weather conditions like thunderstorms, hurricanes, and other natural disasters can pose a high risk of water damage in your home, which can be devastating.
Strong winds and heavy rains can cause damage to your roof, allowing rainwater to flood directly into your home or business. Worse, extreme weather can cause flash flooding, particularly if your home is in a flood-prone area.
What’s worse about severe weather conditions is that you can’t control any factor about it, making it very difficult to prevent water damage.
Clogged Gutters
The gutter system is supposed to direct rainwater away so that water can’t cause any structural damage to your home. But they can get clogged over time by leaves, branches, dust, and debris.
When this happens, rainwater cannot drain away water from your property and instead cause water to overflow from your gutters allowing water to damage your walls and floors.
That’s why it’s important to check your drainage lines frequently so you can ensure it’s working properly and sweep the water away from your home.
Leaking Pipes
We often overlook the leaking water drops from kitchen or bathroom sinks without realizing the dangers of it. A leaking pipe in the kitchen sink could cause harm to the cabinet beneath it. If the leaking is inside the walls, this could complicate matters even more.
The water damage caused by such pipe leaks can cause bubbling in the walls indicating a weak structure. This is extremely important to make sure your house’s foundations are not getting severely damaged; otherwise, this could bring a calamity in any natural disaster.
Not to mention, constant leaks from pipes would increase the moisture and trigger an entire colony of fungal growth, including mold and mildew. Certain leaks can also increase your asbestos exposure risk.
In the worst case, a leak in the plumbing supply line or a drainage pipe in the soil beneath your concrete slab would require expensive repairs from professional plumbing services in Florida.
Water Supply Line Leak In Washing Machine
Constant-pressure water supply pipes feed your washing machine. You don’t have to worry about if your lines are braided in stainless steel. But if your washing machine contains rubber or PVC supply lines, you’ll have a problem.
They may easily wear down and break, causing your entire laundry area to flood in minutes if you can’t manage to turn off the water supply quickly. Be very careful if you come across any leaks connected to electricity. It’s wise to let a professional plumber handle the situation rather than unknowingly step into an electrocuted area.
Condensation From Air Conditioner
Condensation is produced by your air conditioning unit, with moisture dripping from the unit’s evaporator coil into a drain pan and off of your home via a condensate drain line. This drainage method is effective to prevent water damage until the drain pan becomes destroyed or the condensate drain line becomes blocked with dust or debris.
Because the water cannot escape, it will leak from your AC and into your home. Water spilling from your AC unit can cause damage to the floor and walls, as well as make your insulation soggy, increasing the chances of mold growth.
Check out our expert blog to learn how to break free from mold exposure.
Water Heater Leaking
If you have an old water heater, there are chances that this will eventually leak. The same is true for water heaters that have been improperly maintained or installed. So, replace your old water heater or consult Florida plumbing services to maintain the water heater properly.
Too much tank pressure, faulty water line, corrosion in the tank, etc., can cause a leak to your water heater, eventually causing water damage. Water heaters are usually placed in the basement, and they can immediately create a puddle of water if it leaks. That’s why it’s extremely important to inspect it occasionally.
Malfunctioning Sprinkler System
A sprinkler system can undoubtedly save your home and perhaps your life if triggered during a fire hazard. But the issue happens with the older sprinkler system when it activates itself without any sign of fire.
As you might expect, the water damage caused by a faulty or accidentally set-off sprinkler system can be significant, especially if your home contains computers and other electrical items.
According to High Prairie, your sprinkler systems can last around 15-20 years, but you need to maintain them through a professional water remediation service in Florida.
How To Prevent Water Damage?
Now that we have learned about the potential causes of water damage, it’s important to know what steps you can take to prevent water damage and keep your house safe.
Clean Your Gutters
As we mentioned before, gutters keep water away from your home, but it can be blocked over time for various reasons.
The most common reason why your gutters might get blocked is leaves. Apart from it, mosses and weeds can also be a major reason your drain lines aren’t working properly.
Gutters are essential in moving water off your roof and away from your home’s foundation. For gutters to work correctly, you must clean them so that they can efficiently prevent water damage in your home.
Cleaning your gutters regularly, at least twice a year, will keep them functional and safely carry water away from your home. If you don’t want to get into this hassle, you can hire a professional remediation company in Florida to take care of it for you.
Installing an ice dam can be a good step to prevent water damage in winter, as this will protect
your home from melting snow and draining off your roof.
Install A Water Leak Detection Device
Even though we put much importance on smoke and fire detectors, we often neglect water damage detection devices. This simple add-on can save so much of your repair money you’ll be grateful for it.
These detectors can detect any sort of water leaking as soon as it starts, giving you enough time to manage the situation and mitigate water damage. They are fairly easy to install, but you can seek a professional’s help to install them. Make sure not to overlook this!
Install A Water Sump Pump
Sump pumps are amazing equipment to prevent water damage in your home. When there’s heavy rain or flooding, sump pumps automatically redirect the water away from your home, saving you from potential water damage.
Installing a sump pump is a wise decision to prevent water damage as it works automatically and pumps water out of your house. Keeping your house safe from the dangers of water.
If you already have, check if your sump pumps are working correctly and removing water when it should. You can drop water into the sump pits and see if it’s removing water as it should. These occasional checks can save you when calamity hits.
As your sump pump is typically located in the basement or crawl space, it’s the last line of defense in the event of interior flooding or rising groundwater.
Check Your Water Bills
Don’t just give away your water bills casually. See if they match the amount of water you are using. Unseen leaks can create a major impact on your water bills.
EPA says homeowners can save up to 10% of utility bills each month by fixing the leaks properly. If you see a drastic change in your water bills, water is likely leaking somewhere you don’t know.
Contact a professional remediation service in Florida to thoroughly inspect your plumbing system and check if there’s any hidden leak. You can also install an electronic water leak detection system that will monitor the flow, temperature, and pressure of water and let you know if there’s any problem.
With installations like this, you can catch leaks at a very early stage and easily prevent water damage. Some even come with the advanced feature of turning your main water supply as soon as it detects any leak.
Regular Professional Maintenance
The plumbing system can be complicated and hard to inspect regularly. Regular inspection and maintenance through professional Florida plumbing services are the best way to prevent water damage.
They possess the experience and expertise to quickly identify any plumbing issue and solve it in the most efficient way. This way, you can save yourself from tons of water damage issues and take preventive steps before the damage occurs.
This also lets you save a lot of repair money, as a professional plumber can suggest what works best for you.
Conclusion
Water is an essential element of life, no denying on that. But if this enters your home in the wrong way, this can be a headache for you. No one wants to encounter water damage, but unfortunately, we have to.
Knowing the causes of water damage will help you to be vigilant about it and safeguard your home against the devastating effects of water damage on the property. From clogged gutters, leaking pipes, and malfunctioning sprinkler systems, we have covered almost every possible reason your home may face water damage.
Staying informed is the first step to prevention. After knowing and detecting leaks in your home, you can follow our expert tips for cleaning your gutters, installing a sump pump, checking your water bills, and effectively prevent water damage in your beloved home.
So, next time don’t fear when you see a puddle of water, be prepared and follow our expert blog to make sure you are safe from water damage, and if you think things are getting out of reach, a professional water remediation service in Florida can take your worries away and provide a healthy living home for you and your family!