Water damage is among the most common concerns of many homeowners in Australia. Water creeping into the nooks and crevices of their homes could destroy them in the long run, primarily if not appropriately addressed.
For instance, water damage can cause discoloration on painted walls. If there are faulty and leaking appliances or groundwater intrusion, water can penetrate between the subfloor and flooring. Consequently, such instances can cause warped floorboards. Lastly, water damage can lead to mould formation and gradually weaken one’s house’s foundation.
To avoid going through that much hassle, you can consider seeking help from professional water damage restoration businesses like Brisbane Plumbing and Drainage and other similar options.
Common Causes Of Water Damage
As common as they are, water damage issues could be challenging to resolve, mainly if you have limited knowledge of doing so correctly. Aside from that, it’s difficult to notice the early signs of water damage, thus increasing the risks of untoward incidences.
To prevent that from happening, it will help to know the common causes of water damage to determine the suitable measures to avoid it.
1. Inclement Weather
One of the most common root causes of water damage in homes is adverse weather. Although some people may not have any problem with it, strong winds and heavy downpours could significantly affect one’s home, sending a large amount of water into their home.
Worse, inclement weather, including hurricanes, and snowstorms, and disasters like broken dams, could cause unexpected flooding into your home, further endangering your family. Therefore, it will help to install flood alarms and warning signals to safeguard your home from unforeseen instances. Or you can also consider installing foundation vents or sump pumps to remove water from your home.
2. Blocked Gutters
Talking further about the leading factors for water damage, another common aspect you need to look out for is your home gutters. Typically, gutters are designed to draw rainwater away from your home. But, in some cases, these could get blocked by debris, leaves, and branches, hence, clogging the passages.
Consequently, blocked gutters could lead to rainwater quickly penetrating your home and damaging the walls, floors, and ceiling. You can consider using a plumbing snake to unclog the drains, remove the downspout, or hire septic and plumbing services to resolve such issues.
3. Leaking Pipes
Aside from clogged gutters, a leaking pipe is another common source of water damage in many Australian homes. Although this may seem an easy issue for some, a loose-fitting pipe under the kitchen sink could cause water leakages that would potentially damage furniture.
If not appropriately addressed, the broken pipes inside your house could cause an even more significant problem. These issues could lead to mould formation in your walls and ceilings, gradually weakening your home’s foundation.
Aside from the impending danger to your family, these problems could cost you a hefty amount in repairs. So, it’s best to seek help from professionals when you notice the first tell-tale signs of leaky pipes.
4. Clogged Drains
Although they may appear in perfect condition, it’d help keep the drains in your kitchen in check to ensure they won’t cause you any problem. In most Australian homes, clogged drains could result in more significant damage to the house since they’re often connected. This connection affects the other drains.
Some things that can obstruct the drains in your kitchen sink, bathtub, and bathroom floor may include toiletries, toys, dirt, grease build-up, and hair. To conclude, blocked gutters could cause water damage to your property if not resolved immediately.
Hence, it’s best to know essential hacks to unclog drains. First, you can consider pouring hot water down the blocked drain. Then, put baking soda and vinegar into it. Next, you’ll have to cover it and let it sit for at least 20 to 30 minutes. Lastly, you can pour more hot water to clean the drain.
5. Malfunctioning AC Unit
Condensation and moisture are standard results of well-performing air conditioner (AC) units. But, too much of it could pose potential damage to your home. For instance, excess moisture and condensation from ducts could indicate issues with your AC unit, requiring HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) repairs. Malfunctioning AC units can also contribute to water damage in your house.
Specifically, the water coming out of your AC unit’s drainage system may creep into the floor and walls, causing discolouration and uneven surfaces. To better resolve these issues, it helps to regularly check your heating, ventilation, and AC systems. This makes certain that they’re in good condition. Also, hiring HVAC repair services can help solve these problems.
6. Damaged Sprinkler Systems
Although sprinklers are mainly designed to help homeowners detect warning signs of fire and protect their houses, these could also cause potential damage to one’s house if not regularly maintained.
For example, old, malfunctioning sprinkler systems might activate automatically without any triggers or indications of fire. These could then cause unwanted incidences of water spraying into one’s house, affecting electronic appliances and other furnishings.
Homeowners could consider hiring sprinkler system repair services to get them appropriately handled. Or, they themselves can fix it if they have sufficient knowledge on how to do so (to save more money).
7. Defective Water Heater
Besides malfunctioning AC units and sprinkler systems, a defective water heater is another common root cause of water damage in homes. Although you might consider this factor trivial, an old, faulty water heater poses a higher chance of leakage. Similarly, it can more often happen to poorly installed water heater systems.
Water heater leaks can cause floodings to your basement floors or, worse, your entire house if not properly managed. To help you avoid dealing with this problem, it’d help to call a plumber upon noticing issues in your water heater system.
Plumbers could reset any tripped breakers and replace any broken fuse. Also, they could perform tests on the system and replace it if it’s beyond repair.
8. Faulty Appliances
Old and faulty appliances often cause water damage. As machines get older, their pipes tend to rust away. Rust weakens the hose and leads to leaks, damaging your tile, wall and floor paints, and electrical wirings.
A great way to prevent such problems is to hire home appliance repair services to get them checked regularly. Another way is to prepare a valve shutoff kit to avoid any water leakage in your home.
Final Thoughts
Preventing water damage isn’t as easy as it may seem. Before you know it, it’ll affect your home, lead to many repairs, cost you money, and affect your house’s overall kerb appeal.
But it isn’t entirely impossible. Water damage issues can be more manageable with sufficient knowledge and the right people to contact. Knowing the root causes of water damage can also help you determine the right factors to look into and the appropriate measures that will help prevent them. Hiring professional assistance and services can also help resolve your problems.
You can effectively save more time and effort, and keep your house in good condition through these alternatives.
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