Three Steps You Should Take When You Notice a Water Leak
Posted on August 12, 2017
When you first notice a water leak in your home, it’s important to act fast. The single biggest enemy to a home is water and finding and fixing water damage quickly is crucial. There are many types of water leaks, so it’s important to be on the lookout. Some leaks come on suddenly, like a burst pipe, and can pour water through the walls and ceilings very quickly.
Though these leaks can usually be detected a lot faster, they are typically gushing out large amounts of water very suddenly. Other leaks, may take longer to detect, are slower and can build over time. These can be caused by small compromised spots in the roof and the leak grows over time. It could take weeks, or even months before you see the leak show up in your ceiling. Although these types of leaks expel less water, leaving them alone over time can cause more damage. Mold has time to grow and the leak can spread to other spots in your house. Regardless of when or where you spot a leak, it is important to do these three things.
Handle the Initial Problem
Anything you can do in those first few moments and hours to lessen the damage is step one. This means you need to find out where the water is coming from. If a pipe burst, causing water to pour out of your ceiling, then after you grab a bucket to catch the water, you should turn off the water at its source. Knowing ahead of time, the location of your water shut-off valves is very important, especially in the event of a water leak. You can’t handle any other steps until the water ceases to flow.
If your water damage is caused by something like rain, this step might look a little different. If you can cover the leaky spot for the time being, then do. Next, is safety and damage control. Remove any furniture or items from the area that are in the path of the leak. Secure the area, making sure there are no cords or electrical conduits that could be dangerous or even deadly. Dry any of your things that go wet and clean up the remaining water as best you can.
Assess the Situation
Once the immediate crisis is handled, you can now take a few moments to assess the situation. Ask yourself some questions. Where did the water come from? What areas of the house will need to be repaired? Walk through your house, making sure to look for any other areas that the water could have seeped through or caused damage. If you find other wet areas, take care to clean and dry those objects, but make a note of the damage. At some point, you will need to check your insurance coverage and see if any of the damage to your house or items are covered under your policy. For now, a thorough check around the house is the most critical step before calling in the experts to fix your water leak.
Experts
Find a fully insured and bonded expert to come assess and fix the damage caused by the water leak. You don’t have a lot of time to consider bids and quotes. Part of your home is saturated with damaging water that can turn into mold and affect your health. Not to mention, the more the water lingers, the more things that will potentially need to be prepared. Get recommendations from friends quickly or go online and find a highly rated professional to come give you a quote. Make sure you walk the expert through each area of your home so that they have a full understanding of how much damage there is.
No one is ready for a water leak. Those types of home crisis often leave us panicked and scrambling. It’s good to know the answers to some of these questions in advance. Go ahead and have a number or two on hand, research your insurance and purchase a few buckets. It can be so much less stressful if you have a plan already in place for when you spot a water leak.