Not only can rains, floods and huge waves cause mass destruction with alarming quickness, but any type of water can have a lingering and lasting effect on your home.
Water damage in the home can bring about mould, rot and disease. It can cause wood to swell, warp and crack. Your home can lose its structural integrity. It can become a hazardous, uninhabitable place when water works its way in, so fighting off this damage becomes a matter of great importance.
Here are some important tips to follow when waging the ongoing fight against water in the home.
Steps to guard against harmful water damage
1: Fighting humidity
Humidity is essentially water in the air, and high levels of humidity can cause tremendous damage to the home. Not only does it promote unhealthy bacteria that can easily create an unhealthy environment, but from your flooring and walls to your mechanical systems, humidity can take a huge toll.
If you’re already experiencing humidity issues or any other type of serious water issues, professional water damage restoration is the best step to take. Getting the damage taken care of is vital. If you’re not to that point yet, however, then it’s important to make sure you don’t get there.
Fight against humidity by making sure your home is properly insulated. Make sure the bathroom door stays closed when the water is in use, and add a venting system. You also need a vent hood in the kitchen when cooking. And don’t forget that any other water in the home will increase the overall humidity, so pay attention to the rest of these tips to keep the water out of your home altogether.
2: Fighting leaks
Leaking pipes and roofs can start small and become a big problem in a hurry. One day you spot a little bit of water coming from the ceiling, but before you know it you’re fighting against gaping holes, a weaker structure, and a dangerous home.
Go around and check your home regularly. When it rains, carefully inspect the roof to ensure that the shingles are doing their job. When looking for leaking pipes, go beyond looking at the faucets. Check the closets, basement, under the home, of any other location that you find pipes. The best way to fight against leaks is to catch them early before they become bigger problems.
3: Fighting water
Homes with basements are always at a much higher risk of flooding. One of the best ways to keep water out is to regularly inspect what’s going on below. How sturdy is your foundation? You can’t know that answer unless you’re inspecting things. How about any sewage pipes, mainline or your hot water heater? If these things were to burst, your home could easily flood and present horrific damage.
To fight against this type of water in the home, it’s a two-step process. One: Put the systems in place to drain any water away or to prevent water from accumulating. Two: Inspect the home and the systems regularly to ensure that everything is functioning properly.
4: Fighting mould
Mould is some nasty stuff that thrives in wet and humid areas. While every home probably has some mould somewhere, getting rid of this stuff and preventing new mould will keep you and your family a lot safer.
To fight against mould, the first step is to ensure that you’re following the above tips. Always perform inspections and maintenance on the home. Another great way to fight mould is to control the home’s humidity with air conditioning units, proper ventilation and even dehumidifiers if your home’s humidity is in excess of 60%. And when do you find mould, blast it and clean it with specialty cleaners that were designed to kill the stuff and keep it away.
5: Fighting general wetness
As a homeowner, the best possible way to fight against water is to be on a crusade against wetness in general. Basically, this last tip is just a reminder to take the previous seriously. Remember to inspect those pipes, that roof, the water heater, the home’s humidity levels, etc.
You should also adopt a no-tolerance policy regarding water outside of designated areas (shower, toilet, sink, etc). So if there’s a spill, clean it and dry it. If there’s a leak, fit it before it becomes worse. And as a general rule of thumb, if you spot any surface water damage, that’s only the tip of the iceberg. What you can’t see is potentially deadly! So take the maintenance and repairs as seriously as possible.
Keeping your home totally dry is probably unrealistic, but you can be–and should be!–vigilant when it comes to protecting your home against water, humidity and mould. A quick look and fix today can save you a lot of time and money tomorrow.
