It’s easy to forget just how many ways water can get into your home, both through its intended channels and otherwise. The liquid is such an essential part of day to day life, yet it can cause devastating and costly damage to your house. Here are a few of the common causes of household flooding and precautions you can take to minimize your chances of falling victim to them.
If you’re experiencing a flood or water damage in your home, don’t wait to take action to stop the flooding. Call us at 972-395-2597, and we’ll come out to assess your situation.
1. Clear Your Blocked Drains
Blocked drains are a particularly worrying cause of flooding. If you see water backing up through your external drains, or your toilet, sink, or bath is draining slowly, you could have a blockage or other issue with your drainage system. If sewage backs up into your home, it can not only damage your property, but can pose a health risk to you and your family.
Prevention Tips
Warning signs of blocked drains include slow drainage in sinks, toilets, and other fixtures. Other signs can include unpleasant smells and water coming back up through drainage points. Be sure to clear your drains regularly, and ask a trained technician for help with stubborn obstructions.
2. Check Your Pipes for Damage
Pipes can wear down with time. Ground shifts that happen normally here in the Texas clay can make them weak, damaged, and broken, which causes leaks and joints to loosen. When pipes are damaged, you can experience clogs in the damaged sections, burst pipes, and extensive flooding.
Prevention Tips
Regularly maintaining your pipes and fixing issues as soon as you notice them is the best way to keep your pipes in top condition. Check for leaks, loose fittings, and other signs of wear. Signs of a broken pipe include:
- High water bills
- Unpleasant smells
- Poor water pressure
- Water in or around the foundation
- Hot spots on tile
If you notice any of these, it may be time to call a professional.
Frozen pipes are also a danger, as they can split or burst. Protect your pipes with insulation to prevent them from freezing.
3. Look Out for Leaks Around Your Appliances
If your dishwasher or washing machine becomes blocked, a lot of water could back up right into your kitchen or utility room. On top of the water damage, you will lose the use of your dishwasher or washing machine—two things that make life much easier!
Prevention Tips
Performing regular maintenance and ensuring all filters are regularly cleaned can help prevent a costly disaster. If a room seems unusually damp, check for signs of leaks. Small puddles and wet patches on the floor around your appliances can point to a problem. Another sign may include decreased efficiency. If you suspect an appliance is leaking, contact your plumber immediately to remedy the problem.
4. Keep an Eye on Weather Warnings
Poor weather conditions are another common cause of floods in the home and can result in damage to your house—inside and out. Strong winds from storms and tornados can damage roofs and siding, letting rain inside. Downpours saturate the ground, potentially allowing flood water to leak into the foundation or under doors. Even earthquakes can shift the ground, damaging pipes.
Freezing temperatures are another paint point because they cause the water in pipes to expand as it freezes. This puts pressure on the pipes and sometimes forces them to burst. Extremely hot weather can also cause clay in the soil to contract and put pressure on pipes.
Prevention Tips
While you can’t change the weather or prevent natural disasters, performing seasonal maintenance on your home can help you detect issues before they become costly problems or are made worse by bad weather. Check out our checklist for every season here!
Keep an eye on the forecast during seasons when your area is prone to wet weather. Protect your property with sandbags placed at doors and windows. Consider moving expensive or personal items, such as electronics or family albums, upstairs. This way, if flood waters do get into your home, you will have done your best to protect your valuables.
5. Turn Off the Tap
One final cause of household flooding is simple forgetfulness. At some point in your life, you’ve probably forgotten to turn a faucet off. Everyone’s done it! Usually, this mistake is discovered quickly, so no harm is done. If left to run, a single tap can flood a room far faster than you might expect.
Prevention Tips
Never walk away from a tap without turning it off fully, even if you plan to come back to it. This includes dripping!
If you find yourself or someone in your household making this mistake often, install an automatic shut-off system to shut off the water automatically when an overflow is detected.
A flood in your home is a distressing and often expensive experience, so it’s important to keep your eyes open and be ready to act. If you suspect there are any weaknesses in your plumbing system that could cause problems, or if you notice a leak—even small—it’s worth seeking professional advice! Your plumber will be able to assess the risks and advise you on the best action to take to stop flooding from happening.
If you find you’re in need of a plumber—for a routine check or an emergency—call us at 972-395-2597.