2 Ways To Prevent Plumbing-Related Water Damage In Your Home

Finding water in your home is not a pleasant experience. Although water is a necessary part of life, it does not belong on the floors in your home. According to USAA, plumbing problems are the most common causes of water damage in homes, but there are ways to prevent this from happening. Here are three ways you can prevent water damage in your home.

Use Appliances Only When you are Home

USAA reports that the number one cause of water damage in homes comes from washing machines. This is an important appliance that you probably use multiple times a week, but it can leave your house flooded if it malfunctions. Other appliances and plumbing fixtures you own can also malfunction leaving water in a home. To prevent this, you should:

• Make sure you are home when your dishwasher is running.
• Never leave your washing machine running when you leave.
• Make sure toilets have stopped running before you leave your house.

If any of these items ends up leaking, it will be better if you are home. If this happens while you are home, you can instantly go to the device and turn it off. There are certain devices you cannot turn off, but you can shut off a washing machine or dishwasher.

For plumbing devices that are leaking, you can look for shut-off valves, which are located near the devices. By turning the shut-off valve, you will stop the incoming water from flowing, and this might stop the problem.

This is one of the best ways to prevent water damage, but water damage can still occur from other types of plumbing failures.

Perform Maintenance and Updates to Devices that Use Water

The second way to prevent plumbing-related flooding in your home is to perform regular maintenance on all of your devices. Here are some of the things you can do that will help prevent water damage in your home:

• Appliances – check and replace seals from time to time, and periodically examine the plumbing that is coming and going from the devices. For a refrigerator with an ice maker, inspect the water line to make sure it is in good shape and securely attached.
• Toilets – update the mechanisms in your toilet every few years, or purchase new toilets every 10 to 15 years.
• Sump pump – if you have a sump pump in your basement, test it every few months. Make sure that the electricity is running to it and that it will turn on as needed.
• Replace plumbing pipes in walls – this is a big job to do, but you will only need to do it once. If your house is old and you hear the pipes banging around, it may be time to replace them. If an old pipe wears out, it may start dripping, or it may end up rupturing from the water pressure.
• Insulate exposed pipes – during the winter, plumbing pipes can burst and leave you with a house full of water. This happens because of the way water expands and contracts from temperature changes, but you can prevent this by insulating any pipes that are exposed to outdoor temperatures.

Taking these steps on a regular basis may help you prevent most plumbing problems that lead to water damage.

If you do end up finding water in your home, you will need to immediately call a water damage restoration company. As you wait for them to arrive, you should pick up any important or valuable belongings you have to prevent further damage. Many homeowners' insurance policies do offer coverage for problems like this, but you may still be responsible to pay the deductible. Hop over to this web-site for more information.