The Best Way to Protect Your Home from Water Damage

4/6/2020 (Permalink)

Dealing with water damage in your home or business can be overwhelming and costly. The average bill to repair and restore water damage to a home or business is thousands of dollars, and damage can be anywhere from the basement to the roof. You should be especially aware if you live in a flood zone; however, water damage can still occur at any time and anywhere around your property. At SERVPRO of South Cobb, we pride ourselves on our industry expertise with handling water damage and restoring your home or business to its original state. Here’s how you can best protect your home from water damage to be prepared year-round. 

It’s first best to know the most common causes of water damage to know what to look for and where to look if your home or business suffers water damage. Here’s a list of some common cause of significant water damage: 

• Roof damage (broken/missing shingles, cracked flashing, etc.)
• Burst or leaking pipes
• Leaking household appliances such as laundry machines or dishwashers 
• Extreme weather and floods 

Some things to look for when trying to determine if there is water damage in your home or business are: 

• Warped or sagging ceilings 
• Peelings paint/wallpaper
• A musty smell of mold and moisture 
• Warped floors
• Water pooling in areas of your lawn

The big secret to best protecting your property from water damage and other damages is in home maintenance. Inspect your roof. It takes the forefront of the elements 24/7 year-round. Your roof should be inspected periodically to ensure all shingles, caulk, and flashing are in place and undamaged. Your gutters should also be maintained to ensure that proper drainage is available to water running off your roof. If your gutters are clogged, and water cannot correctly escape your roof, it can pool on the roof or around your foundation, leading to potentially severe water damage. Your windows can be caulked to prevent snow and other moisture from penetrating inside during inclement weather. This also applies to indoor areas that may be exposed to water as the kitchen and bathroom by caulking things like sinks, tubs, and backsplashes so that water cannot get into the walls of your property. The best sealant to use for these indoor areas is one that is 100% silicon. Silicon caulking is waterproof, doesn’t crack over time, and is flexible, unlike acrylic caulk, which can shrink over time, allowing water through. 

While all these steps may be taken to prevent water damage from occurring, it cannot be guaranteed that water damage can be prevented. Things like natural disasters and floods arise, and water damage can still happen. However, no matter what event may occur, you can call our trained water damage restoration professionals here at SERVPRO of South Cobb, and we will make it our top priority to get your home or business back to its original state so that you can take a breath. No one wants to deal with water damage to their property, SERVPRO will be there for you. 

SERVPRO of South Cobb at (770) 739-2355 is ready to help local homeowners with flood damage. They have the advanced equipment and IICRC expertise to turn the loss around and make it, “Like it never even happened.”