Indoor Flood Damage – What Are The Normal Causes?

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Flood damage comes in many forms. Although the worst situations involve forces of nature, this does not make the more common incidences of flooding in the home any less annoying or damaging. Most water damage that occurs in a home happens due to simple issues that are easily remedied. By understanding what the most common causes of flooding in a home, homeowners can take steps to prevent them before having to call for flood damage cleaning!

Defective Washer Hoses

Defective washer hoses are one of the most common causes of unintentional flooding in the home and fortunately the easiest one to prevent. Washer intake hoses dry out and crack after a while and fittings can wear out. This often results in either a slow leak that can cause serious damage to flooring or sudden leaks where a hose fails completely.

A homeowner could wind up with gallons of water from inside the washer spilling onto the floor or worse yet, water from the feed line leaking everywhere. This problem can be avoided by replacing rubber washer hoses with strong, braided ones and installing a washer shutoff valve.

Water Heater Leaks

The water heater is another source of flood damage, as many people forget about checking their heaters. Water heaters can rust or experience other kinds of failures, leaving slow leaks to cause costly damage to the floors and walls around it. Worst of all, because these appliances are connected to a continuous source of water, the leaking continues and worsens over time until it is finally detected. By then it may be time for flood damage cleaning. 

Homeowners need to routinely check water heaters for leaks and pay close attention to the unit's age. Replacing an old unit that shows signs of rusting can prevent a disaster.

Clogged Drains

Clogged drains can be more than just a nuisance. When water drains slower and collects in sinks or tubs, this could be a flood waiting to happen. Chronically slow drains should be investigated to determine the problem and cleared out before a sudden backup of water causes a flood. Even small amounts of water pouring onto the floors in bathrooms and kitchens can cause flood damage since the water seeps and soaks into everything. A plumber should inspect slow drains so they can be cleaned before a flood can happen.

Drain Pipe and Septic Issues

Septic backups and clogged drainpipes are a serious concern that can precede very unpleasant and unsanitary flooding in the home. Septic backups are usually caused by an overfull septic tank or an issue with the drainfield, while clogged pipes can be caused by many different things. In either case, before an overflow that requires flood damage cleaning occurs, homeowners should have an experienced plumber or septic service out to take a look.

Clogged and Dirty Rain Gutters

Even though they are not actually inside the home, dirty rain gutters that become clogged are another common cause of home flood damage. When water cannot flow along the gutter to the downspout, it pools in the gutters and pours over the edges, falling to the ground around the home. When this water is not properly diverted, it can saturate the ground around the foundation, eventually working its way into the house through small cracks in the foundation that may generate over time. In extreme cases, water can flood into basements. Keeping the rain gutters clean is the easiest remedy.

As simple as some of these concerns may seem, they cause countless dollars in home flood damage every year. Thankfully, all of these issues are easy to prevent. Before a small problem becomes a bigger one that involves flood damage cleaning, homeowners should add these simple items to their home maintenance list and practice them regularly!

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Water Damage From An Insurance Viewpoint!

Water Damage in Conroe Texas

Every year, many homeowners experience costly water damage in their homes in a number of different ways. Property owners can generally file a claim with their insurance company for this type of property destruction, depending upon how it occurred and what perils their homeowners policy covers.

For any perils not automatically covered on a policy, homeowners can usually add a rider so that water damage repair is covered regardless of how the damage occurs. Insurance companies compensate for this damage when it is classified under one of the four perils listed below.

Seepage and Leakage Insurance

Seepage and leakage are defined as slow leaks and drips that cause a significant amount of water damage over time that requires repair. Small, slow leaks and seepage can go undetected for months or even years; once the issues are finally discovered, there may be considerable damage to walls, floors, ceilings, and even support structures.

These small leaks usually occur in the plumbing due to loose fittings or minute cracks as well as with any appliances or fixtures that use or fill with water such as water heaters, dishwashers, bathtubs, etc.

Backup and Overflow Insurance

A plumbing backup can happen for a variety of reasons and in a number of places. The most serious backups occur when an overfull or malfunctioning septic system cannot accept any more water and the drain pipes and toilets overflow as a result. Homes that are hooked up to a public sewer system can experience a backup as well. This may happen during a heavy rainfall if the sewers flood.

Homes with sump pumps may also experience floods due to backups. Backups and overflows of the septic or sewer system are health hazards that require professional water damage repair by an experienced company to ensure the safe removal of all harmful bacteria and pathogens.

Sudden and Accidental Water Insurance

When something really unexpected happens, like a broken appliance, burst pipe, or even a huge fish tank cracking and spilling everywhere, insurance companies consider this to be a sudden and accidental event. Unfortunately, some of these sudden and accidental events can cause a tremendous amount of water damage in a home depending on what broke and how much water spilled out as a result.  

Foundation Water Damage Insurance

The last category of water damage that homeowners insurance usually covers, if it is included on the policy, is foundation damage caused by water. This can occur in a number of different ways, including as a side result of the above three categories. Foundation water damage repair can be very costly as well, so this is an important peril to include on a home insurance policy in case of such an emergency.

These four categories encompass all the various types of water damage that can occur in a home for many reasons. Yet it is important that homeowners check their policies to specifically determine whether they are covered for all of these perils. Some policies may only compensate for water damage repair under certain circumstances. To avoid having to spend out-of-pocket money for a large water repair bill when it is least expected, homeowners should ensure that all four of these perils are included on their policies!

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Water Damage Restoration – What Is Included?

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When considerable flooding occurs, dealing with the disaster usually requires more than just a mop and bucket. Depending on the water source, water damage restoration can be quite extensive and take many days or even weeks to complete. Failure to use the right techniques can result in permanent destruction of homes and personal property or conditions that could cause illness in the future. This is why it is so important for home and building owners to work with experienced water damage restoration services when these unfortunate events occur.

Categorizing and Assessing the Damage

Water damage is classified into three categories based on the water source. Category 1 is destruction caused by clean water. Category 2 are damages caused by what is known as gray water. Category 3 is a disaster brought about by black water. Category 1 indicates the fewest health and environmental risks, while Category 3 indicates the most significant risks.

Based on this categorization, which considers the critical level of contaminants and pathogens present, water damage restoration services must determine what must be addressed in cleanup efforts and then assess the level of damage sustained. By using this information, a plan is devised for dealing with the damage in the most effective ways, while removing all environmental and health risks.

Cleaning and Drying

After the assessment to determine the extent of the damage is completed and has been determined what type of water damage restoration must take place, the cleaning and drying effort begins. This process usually takes a minimum of a few days to complete the stages of water extraction, drying, sanitizing, and deodorizing. It can take longer depending upon the amount of damage and size of the areas being treated.

Water damage restoration services will typically remove or store items that have not been damaged to preserve them, then begin working on all the items and structures that have been harmed. They use various drying technologies to expedite the process so that loss is minimized. They also apply different treatments to any pathogens or contaminants that could be harmful and remove any residual odors.

Post Restoration Inspection

Once all water damage restoration has been completed, a thorough inspection is performed to ensure that buildings and items have been returned to their previous condition. During this inspection, restorers check the moisture levels of the items that have been restored, as well as the temperature and humidity level inside the buildings to ensure that everything is dry and there is no risk of microorganism or pathogen growth.

Yet each circumstance is different, which means every restoration effort will also be different as well. In the event that conditions are not ideal the first time, a service may need to continue their efforts before the restoration can be considered to be complete.

The goal of water damage restoration is to bring property and buildings back to the condition they were in before being affected by a flood. Considering the risk of mold and mildew and the potential health and environmental hazards that may be present, this can be quite challenging. For the best chance at total restoration and the least amount of loss after a flood, professional water damage restoration services are essential!

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What Are The Types of Water And Resulting Water Damage?

Water damage in Conroe Texas

 

Water is essential for sustaining life. Unfortunately, the movement or leakage of that water can also cause costly damage to homes and businesses, as well as health issues in people and animals. When this happens, a need exists for water damage repair done by experts who understand that there are different categories of water, each requiring a its own level of cleanup and restoration.

To better understand the concerns and risks associated with various types of water damage, property owners must know the following three water categories and the degree of destruction and contamination they can cause.

Category 1 - Clean Water

Clean water is clear from the source and fit for human consumption or use, without any notable risks. Water damage from this type of water usually occurs as a result of a burst supply pipe; rain, ice, or snow that leaks into a building; broken toilets or tanks; faucets or other fixtures; or sinks and tubs that have overflowed. It is important to understand that while this liquid is considered to be clean when a leak first begins, the category could change to gray or black afterwards.

Any interaction with chemicals present in building materials, carpeting, flooring, and other items can cause contamination so that it becomes more of a health issue and requires more extensive water damage repair efforts. Heat tends to increase the chance of microorganism growth as does time, further increasing the risk associated with Category 1 damage.

Category 2 - Gray Water

Gray water comes from mostly clean sources that could contain microorganisms or potentially harmful pathogens, so it cannot be considered clean. Examples of sources of Category 2 water damage include overflowed dishwashers or washing machines that were in the process of cleaning a load; overflowed toilets with only urine inside them; sump pump failures; aquarium leaks; and similar sources.

Any treatment with chemicals, bath products, home cleaning agents, or other additives is also considered as contamination, presenting a Category 2 health risk of possible illness or injury.  

Category 3 - Black Water

Black water is the most damaging and most likely to cause health concerns in people and animals. This water is very contaminated with either chemicals that can cause serious harm, pathogens, or microorganisms that can cause serious illness or even death.

Considered to be both unsanitary and unsafe, some sources of Category 3 damage include overflowed toilets containing feces or any backflow from behind the trap; sewage; windblown rain that is forced through roofing or building materials; groundwater containing soil, silt, or other contaminants that is pooled or forced through foundations; storm surges; and any amount of fluid over a few inches that sits on the ground for any length of time.

Due to the nature of this damage that poses both health and environmental threats, Category 3 damage requires the most intensive water damage repair.

Water damage can pose a higher or lower amount of a risk and require different levels of repair based on the type that is present. Dealing with this damage requires much more than simply mopping it up. Getting the right water damage repair means working with a company that can correctly identify the source of the damage, classify the the proper water group, and then provide the necessary cleaning and restoration services!

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