December 1, 2019

How To Protect Your Home From Water Damage

Quick Summary of How To Protect Your Home From Water Damage

Set Up Your Outside Drainage Properly
Check On Your Downspouts And Gutters Regularly
Get Some Gutter Guards
Have Your Roof Inspected
Change Your Soil Grade
Irrigation Systems And Sprinklers Need To Be Checked
Address Cracks In Your Concrete
Do You Know Where Your Water Main Is?
Water Heater Needs An Inspection
A/C Unit Needs A Inspection
What’s Going On In Your Attic?
Doors And Windows Need To Be Sealed
Check Your Sinks, Faucets, And Hoses
Check Your Toilets, Tubs And Showers
Check Your Sump Pump
Sinks Are Not For Grease
Don’t Use Chemicals To Unclog Your Drain
Really Look At Your Water Bill
Monitor You Water Pressure
Install A Water Leak Device

20 Proven Ways To Prevent Water Damage In Your Home

Avoid water damage by following these 20 how to protect your home from water damage tips. You’ll save money, time, and gain a whole lot of peace of mind.

1. Set Up Your Outside Drainage Properly

Most people never think to check the status of their home’s drainage setup. This is because you assume that it’s already been done right. But this is not always the case.

Your outside drainage setup is your home’s first line of protection against rainwater. It’s vital that it’s constructed properly and fully functional.

If it’s not, your foundation is at risk of weakening. This happens when pools of water cause the foundation to crack and settle unevenly. Over time, water finds or creates more pathways to get into the home.

Here’s some information about making sure that your home drainage system is adequate. Make this part of knowing how to protect your home from water damage.

2. Check On Your Downspouts And Gutters Regularly

Gutters get clogged easily, especially if you have trees that hang near or over your home. Heavy rain and wind cause the debris, seeds, and leaves to fall and plug up your drainage gutters.

You need to make a habit of checking them every so often. Gutters that never get cleaned usually cause damage to the siding and the foundation. This is a result of lots of water coming down the side of your house in the same areas.

Also, it’s important not to ignore the downspouts. They are designed to make sure that direct water is away from your house. Usually around 5-10 feet away. If these get clogged and remain unaddressed, you’ll have problems.

3. Get Some Gutter Guards

These are helpful attachments that make it so you don’t have to attend to your gutters as often. The job of unclogging gutters can be messy, wet, and stinky. It’s no fun. Gutter guards prevent roof gutters from clogging and creating pools of water.

Some homes have a real need for these while others don’t. If you live in a home and area that’s prone to clogging, consider getting some of these.

4. Have Your Roof Inspected

Though you may have the tendency to treat your roof with an out-of-sight, out-of-mind mentality, don’t. Your roof is one of the most important, maybe THE most important, parts of your home. And it gets wailed on by the elements. Knowing how to protect your home from water damage begins with your roof.

At least twice a year, probably more, you need to get up there and check it out. If you have damaged, loose, or missing shingles, replace them. Also, look for lichen, moss, or algae build up. Have your roof professionally cleaned if necessary.

5. Change Your Soil Grade

Changing your soil grade means adding soil around the foundation. You do this so that water will flow away from the house and away from the foundation. Otherwise you risk weakening the foundation, which can result in walls leaning, masonry cracking, and new pathways for water to get in.

Consider changing your soil grade especially if you have a crawl space. You don’t want water pooling up under the floor. This leads to insects, mildew, rot, and mold.

Depending on your property and where you live, you may need to add this to your how to protect your home from water damage list. But you might

Manicured vegetation and trees on your property is great, but not if they overgrow near utility pipes. Make sure to keep those in check.

Also, you don’t want your vegetation growing too big. Certain kinds of trees and plants have problematic root systems if left unchecked. They can cause problems with septic tanks, pipes, drainage field, and sprinkler systems, all of which cause water damage.

How to protect your home from water damage means staying on top of trimming all other landscape maintenance.

6. Irrigation Systems And Sprinklers Need To Be Checked

Broken sprinkler heads or other irrigation system malfunctions cause water to pool. If this happens near the foundation, this is a problem.

Turn off these systems entirely if you live in an area that freezes during winter. Otherwise, you could be looking at a burst pipe.

7. Address Cracks In Your Concrete

Cracks in your concrete will happen no matter what. It almost always does. But make sure you address them. If you don’t, they’ll grow and then you’ll have a much bigger issue.

Especially if the area where you live reaches freezing temperatures. You’ll also want to see if the crack is caused by a foundation problem, which is not good.

Check this page out for how to repair concrete cracks

8. Do You Know Where Your Water Main Is?

You need to know this. Many people who own homes don’t know where the water main is on the property. It’s so important to know where it is. If you don’t, and a pipe bursts, you won’t be able to quickly turn off the water.

The longer it takes for you to shut the water off, the more damage you’ll have to deal with.

Ask any restoration company and they’ll tell you that washing machine leaks cause a large portion of their water damage jobs. The hoses on your washing machine are another one of those out-of-sight, out-of-minds things that need attention.

Washing machine hoses need to be replaced on a regular basis. Somewhere around every 4-5 years. If you’ve had your machine’s for longer than that and you’ve never changed the hoses, change them.

9. Water Heater Needs An Inspection

Once every year you need to inspect your water heater. Look for leaks, even if they’re slow. Is there any pooling water. Any corrosion? Rust? If you’re wanting to know how to protect your home from water damage, you need to remember to check for these things.

Address these things right away if you find them. And where water heaters are concerned, it’s better to have a professional handle it unless you are a professional yourself.

Also, if your unit is old, you’re at risk of valves and outlets becoming faulty. It’s a good idea to get those replaced before they become a problem. (Or get whole new on-demand or tankless unit.) You’ll save money on your utility bill.

10. A/C Unit Needs A Inspection

A/C units can leak water if not maintained. Lots of times you don’t notice A/C unit leaks until it’s developed into a major problem. This is because they’re usually tucked away in a closet or something similar.

Have your HVAC system checked at least once a year to make sure it’s fully functional and not damaged.

11. What’s Going On In Your Attic?

Have you ever been into your attic since you’ve lived in your house? Even once? How to protect your home from water damage requires checking the attic.

It’s a place where water damage can originate. When leaks form in attics, even slow ones, mold almost always forms. Attics are an ideal environment for mold growth.

The insulation and wood get saturated with water and begin to spread mold. This kind of water damage is health hazard that needs to be dealt with immediately.

Sometimes water pools up without you knowing and then comes crashing down through the ceiling. Prevent this by having a routine check of your attic done. At least once a year.

12. Doors And Windows Need To Be Sealed

This tends to be a bigger issue in older homes. But even if your home is new, you should still be aware of this potential problem.

If doors and windows aren’t fitted properly, snow and rain can get in. Heavy winds can increase the chances of this happening.

When water gets in like this, it can damage the drywall around the window as well as the window frame itself. Here’s some information on how to seal it with caulk. If you get lots of storms where you live, consider installing storm windows.

13. Check Your Sinks, Faucets, And Hoses

You need to regularly check all the sinks, faucets, and hoses in your house for leaks. Don’t forget to get on your knees and check underneath and inside cabinets close to the floor.

14. Check Your Toilets, Tubs, And Showers

The grout and caulking in your bathroom can become damaged and break off over time. If caught in their early stages, this is an easy fix. What you don’t want is for water to damage the drywall underneath and permeate the tile.

Make sure you check your bathroom appliances as part of your how to protect your home from water damage routine.

15. Check Your Sump Pump

Once a year – at least – you need to test your sump pump system. The last thing you want is for a rainstorm to cause you sump pump to…well…you know what happens. It’s yucky.

16. Sinks Are Not For Grease

Do not pour grease down the sink! And don’t flush it down the toilet, either. Throw it away in the trash or dispose of it some other way. Just don’t let it travel through the pipes in your home.

It congeals, clings, and blocks. The result? Damage. Don’t make this mistake when learning how to protect your home from water damage.

17. Don’t Use Chemicals To Unclog Your Drain

Use a drain snake instead. Why? Because chemicals eat away at pipes. They do a good job declogging, but the side effects over time can cause severe damage.

Buy a drain snake if you don’t have one and use it to unclog your drains.

18. Really Look At Your Water Bill

Monitor your water bill each month and look for irregularities in usage and price. This is a really good way to spot a leak while it’s in its infancy. You’ll still have to search for the leak, but a strange change on your bill is an indicator. 21. If You Go On Vacation, Turn The Water Off.

If you go on an extended vacation, turn your water off. Water damage happens a lot while families are gone on a trip. They come home and find a problem that could have been avoided had they shut the water off.

19. Monitor You Water Pressure

A few times a year, test your home’s water pressure. It’s not hard. The only thing you need is a pressure gauge. They’re simple and inexpensive little tools you can get at your local hardware store.

If something in the inner-workings of your home is causing a rise in water pressure, water damage is almost inevitable. Hoses, flex lines, and pipes will burst with too much water pressure.

20. Monitor You Water Pressure

These handy devices are a lot like your smoke alarms. You set it to monitor certain areas. When water is detected in one of these areas, you hear an alarm.

They don’t cost much. You can get a good one for between $10 and $30. They can be mounted wherever is most convenient for you, including right on at the floor.