With the rainy season approaching, it’s time to prepare yourself to prevent future water damage. The best ways to protect yourself from water damage occurring on your property is active prevention, consistently checking and assessing possible problems. Active water damage prevention is the best way to stop a problem before it occurs and reduce water damage restoration in the future.
Keep an eye on your garden (trees and roots)
We all love a bit of greenery, but be careful where your vegetation is growing. Shrubs and trees can have their roots wrap around your property’s pipes and damage (or worse, break) them. Minimize your landscaping around areas connected to your sprinkler system, pipes, drainage field, and septic tanks. Before you plant anything new, always plan it out to avoid any potential damage to water lines.
Clean your roof gutters and downspouts
This one is probably on your chore list already, giving you even more reason to get it done. Always try and keep your roof gutters and downspouts clean and free of debris. One bad rainy day can have water overflowing from a clogged gutter and heading into your property’s foundation, which can cause serious water damage. Overflow can also find its way through your roof, and can even lead to water in your basement, leading to some major water damage restoration bills later. With this prevention tip please remember, safety first! If your roof gutters are too high, or you don’t feel confident getting up and cleaning them, please call a professional.
Dealing with clogs inside the house
When unclogging a drain inside your house, many people opt to use caustic chemicals to open their clogged pipes. While this method is very easy, we suggest you use a drain pipe first. While those chemicals do the job with minimal effort they are also corrosive and can damage the pipes they are unclogging, leading to water damage problems down the line. Using a drain snake first, and then chemicals as a backup plan, will keep your pipes in better shape and lead to fewer problems. Drain snakes are inexpensive and don’t require as much effort as many people assume.
NO GREASE DOWN THE SINK!
Many people have been scolded by their parents about this before, and it was for good reason, you should never pour grease down the sink. Neither hot nor cold water will properly flush out the grease from the pipes, as it can still congeal and stick to them. This can cause some real damage and lead to some bad blockage. Instead of pouring grease down the sink, we suggest you pour the grease into a can or container and leave it out to thicken (or refrigerate it to speed up the process) and then discard it in the trash.
Checking up on your appliances
Most of your appliances are used constantly, with that use comes wear, and wear can lead to problems and damages if not attended to. You should routinely checkup and maintain the appliances on your property, refer to the manufacturer’s directions or help page for questions regarding specific appliances. Keep an eye on your washing machine hoses, as these are one of the most frequent pieces causing water loss and water damage. Replace these frequently to avoid any serious problems down the line.
If you do find any leaks around your appliances, investigate them right away! Letting a potential leak go on will amplify the potential water damage, increasing the cost of the inevitable water damage restoration bill later. Ignoring moisture damage from a leak can lead to mold, mildew, dry rot, and in serious cases, structural damages to the property. With water damage, it is best not left for later, and with anything you’re not sure on, call a professional.
Monitor the water bill
This is one of the easiest and best tips. If you constantly monitor your water bill, you’ll notice any large increase in water usage. If you cannot explain the increase in water usage, and if you’re wondering why your water bill is higher, you may have a leak. Sometimes leaks are in pipes buried away in the structure of your property, something you would not casually notice. Catching these leaks early will lead to far less water damage, and a much smaller water damage restoration bill. Leaks left to grow and worsen can cause tremendous damage to your property.
Know where your water main is
Take time to know where your water main is, and place that information solidly in your memory. If anything is to ever happen with a large leak or problem, you can rush over to it and turn off the water main until you can move forward with handling the problem. Less water spilling out means less of a problem to deal with, and less water damage that will grow from it.
Remember to shut off your water main when you leave for an extended amount of time, to reduce the risk of any leaks or for drips that could cause water damage while you’re away.
If you notice one of these problems and you don’t feel confident about handling it yourself, reach out to a professional. At Clean Earth, our water damage restoration services can take care of these problems and help you prevent them from reoccurring. For inquiries or to set an appointment, give us a call at (888) 471-6653.