How to protect your home against water damage

The first thing you need to preserve your house is for the house to be well-built. However, that is not enough for you to relax and not do anything else in order to protect your house against conditions such as water damage. A house takes a lot of responsibility and there is nothing about it that should be taken lightly. Instead, you should be ready to invest a lot of your time and money in preventing and fixing all the potential issues. Fixing the issues will cost you much more when it comes to all the resources, which is exactly why you should focus on preventing them. Here is how to successfully prevent any kids of water damage to your home!

Fix the water leaks

The first thing you need to do is to carefully inspect your house. This will help you gain insight into the current situation and it will let you know if there is already anything you should do. If standing water occurs, it may seem like no biggy, but it is actually a serious problem. To be more precise, it can lead to a more serious problem. Standing water on concrete flat roofs shouldn’t be neglected ever. Your ceiling could be weakened and water spots could start forming on the inside. If you don’t act immediately and leave these spots unattended, you could end up with some cracks in your ceiling. Not only that, but the mold could start growing as well.

On the other hand, if you inspect your roof thoroughly and make sure to spot any leak, you’ll gain a chance to prevent all this from happening. Once you find the source of the leak, everything will get much easier. You’ll be able to attend it immediately and you won’t have to think about potential mold growth or cracks in the ceiling. When it comes to the most common causes for this type of leaks, the problem could be busted pipes or a collection of rainwater in a roof dent. Clogged roof drainage is also a common leak cause. When the solution to the problem is concerned, waterproofing and sealing the roof terrace is bound to fix the leakage.

Inspect the flashings

The next thing you should do if you want to properly protect your home against water leakages is to inspect flashings. If you don’t know what flashing is, they are the aluminium (or galvanized) steel plates. They are used for covering up the roof joints in order to avoid accumulation and water leakage. They are also very useful when it comes to directing the flow of rainwater. When they get damaged, they are not as useful as they should be. That means that they can lead to water leakage.

Since the flashings are prone to corrosion, it is your task to regularly check them. Checking them regularly will also allow you to spot if there has been any damage of other sorts. There could be holes, curls, cracks, and folds. These can often happen due to some strops or blizzards. When inspecting, you should make sure that flashings near chimneys, windows, and pipes are all smooth. That will ensure your safety and it’ll protect your home.

Replace the shingles

Shingles are there to not let your roof collapse in case of water and snow sliding down. Even though they are not likely to not work properly, you should inspect them too from time to time. If they get damaged, it is essential to replace them as soon as possible. Even though the damaged shingles aren’t a serious issue on their own, they can cause a lot of more serious problem. For instance, if they have holes or gaps, water can go through them and make your life more complicated. This area would then be prone to grow mold and moss. This, as a result, will not only weaken the shingle but will also weaken the ceiling beneath.

When the shingles are damaged, you can always repair them. However, reusing the repaired shingles doesn’t guarantee any success whatsoever. If you want to make sure that the shingles won’t let water seep through, the best you can do is replace them. It’s good to know that the maximum lifespan of a shingle is around 15 years. If you haven’t replaced the shingles over the decade, you might want to renew the entire roof. If that is the case, make sure to step up your maintenance game since it is essential to do this every once in a while.

Unblock downspouts

The next thing you’re supposed to do is to replace the downspouts. There is always going to be excessive water flowing down the shingles. This water needs to go somewhere and that is when downspouts and gutters come in. They help this excessive water flow down the shingles successfully. Unfortunately, a lot of things can gather up in the downspouts. Things such as shingle granules, dirt, and leaves can clog the downspouts. When this happens, the flow of rainwater is disturbed and there is no way that the water goes through the shingles. In these situations, you risk having the shingles damaged as well.

For these reasons, it’s best if you take things into your own hands and solve the problem. Once you clear these clogged downspouts, you’ll prevent the collection of standing water. This means that you will be able to finally solve the excessive water problem. The water will keep flowing and you’ll keep your home safe and protected. If you don’t know how to solve this, you can always look for a gutter cleaning service. If you don’t have this issue right now, you’ll be happy to learn that there is a way for you to prevent it even in the future. All you need to do is to install some gutter shields. These will keep any foliage, dirt, and debris away from the gutters!

Protect windows and doors

Your roof isn’t the only thing that could be damaged due to excessive water. The doors and the windows are also pretty important points when it comes to protecting your home against water leakage. Even though they won’t cause you headaches during regular rains, they will be risky when storms and floods occur. If you start noticing the peeling paint or plaster layers around frames, you should know that the material is being weakened.

There are a lot of ways to solve these issues, though. For instance, the first thing you should do is caulk and seal strip around the door and window frames. This will guard them from any possible leaks. If you want to further secure the doors and windows, you can always go for overhangs. These will definitely shelter your doors against the direct impact of rainwater. However, modern design houses avoid this, as it isn’t the happiest option when the aesthetic appearance is concerned. Finally, you can also opt for cavity walls, as they too prevent rainwater from damaging your house.

Maintain indoor plumbing systems

Even though it may seem impossible to understand indoor plumbing systems, that is not the case. No matter how complicated this may seem, you could always understand it and maintain it properly. The first thing here is to know how to maintain your automatic appliances. For instance, water heaters, washing machines, and dishwashers all get an automatic water supply. To maintain them, all you need to do is simply check the hoses and faucets. If you notice any leaks or cracks, make sure to replace the damaged parts immediately.

Another necessary thing to do is to shut the main water supply when you leave the house for longer. For example, if you’re going on vacation, doing this will ensure leakproof plumbing. This is important for many reasons. Firstly, you’ll save some money if you avoid a serious leakage. You’ll also save a lot of time if you do everything properly. Your house and your belongings will remain intact and your vacation will go with no major worries!

Pay attention to water seepage in the basement

Basements are generally susceptible to the accumulation of moisture. This happens due to their low-lying nature. Since mold is usually uncontrollable in the basements, it’s no wonder that the strength of the foundation can get damaged easily. Luckily for you, there is a simple way to notice that there is a seepage of water in the basement.

Namely, once there is a high possibility of this, the soil around the house is saturated with water every time it rains. What you should do is try your best to increase the resistance against moisture. Make sure to spot the developed cracks as soon as they show up and reseal them. Waterproofing them will further increase your chances of successfully protecting your home.

Make sure that the drainage is good

Finally, you should pay attention to the one thing that is usually overlooked but that could deteriorate the very foundation of your house – the drainage system. If the system isn’t proper, you could face cracks that could create a path to water seepage. The wall is pressurized when it starts raining over the loosened up soil after a dry season.

If you simply clean and unclog the gutters as regularly as you should, you shouldn’t worry about this. This doesn’t just reduce water pressure – it also reduces moisture in the pipes. Don’t forget to call the professionals whenever necessary and you won’t have to worry about water damage ever.

Conclusion

Water damage can cause some serious problems around the house and it can cost you a lot of money and time. With these tips, you’ll protect your home from any type of water damage and you’ll spend the minimum of resources on it.