When we think about the safety of our home, there are a lot of things that come to mind. We think about fire risks, electricity risks, slipping risks. Many of us don’t think about water damage that often. It may be time to start keeping it in mind, because water damage can be more serious than you may think. Here’s a quick guide to protecting your home against the worst of water damage.
If water damage has already occurred
Did you stumble upon this article because you’ve already suffered water damage? If you’re unsure of what to do, you need to get some experts in. It’s unlikely there’s much you can do by yourself here. You need to act fast! Water damage spreads, weakening the structures around the immediate damage area.
If you leave it for over 24 hours, then mold can begin to grow. Do not underestimate the dangers of mold. Water damage restoration needs to happen as soon as possible after the accident!
Identify the biggest risks and check those areas frequently
Where is there a lot of water in your home? Well, technically, there is a lot of water running throughout your house. But if we localize the big potential problem areas, they’re much easier to check. You should check any water-heavy machinery, such as dishwashers and washing machines. Have a look at the back while they’re doing their job to see if there are any leaks from the pipes. Checking the plumbing directly underneath the sink is also worthwhile.
Keep an eye on your ceilings. From your ground floor, you should check the ceiling that is underneath upstairs bathrooms. From your top floor, you should inspect all parts of the ceiling. Problems with overhead plumbing or roof leaks will show here. If you have an attic, you should check there to get a closer inspection of your roof during bouts of heavy rain.
Check your insurance
You need to be careful with insurance here. You may think that your homeowner’s insurance covers water damage. This may not be the case. Bear in mind that in the insurance world there tends to be two types of water damage. Those would be damage incurred by faulty utilities and damage from natural flooding.
Both of these cases are unlikely to be covered by homeowner’s insurance. Natural flooding is only covered by a specialized type of insurance. Flood risk home insurance must cover both the property and the items in it. Any given property in the country is given a flood risk level (high, medium, low, very low) that will determine the cost of this insurance.
Water damage from faulty utilities is even trickier. Insurance companies may argue that the homeowner hadn’t been maintaining their utilities correctly. This being said, instances of extreme and very sudden water damage may still be covered. You need to research your insurance policy to make sure you’re informed.
Get any leaks seen to immediately
The best thing you can do is resolve leaking issues as soon as you find them. If you notice that the pipes behind your washing machine are leaking, don’t go back to what you were doing before. If you have the expertise, get to fixing it right away. If not, call someone in who does!
Water damage is dangerous and can be an expensive fix. Protect yourself against it sooner rather than later.
