1 in 50 homeowners experiences water damages each year.
Wow! That’s a lot of homes affected by water penetrating inside.
If you’re a new homeowner, you might not realize how prevalent this threat is to your new house. But, you should know and take steps to prevent it.
Water damage occurs in many ways, but in many cases, it’s preventable.
Here are five mistakes that many homeowners make that can lead to water damaging their homes. You can take the proper steps to avoid this severe issue when you know these mistakes.
1. Completing Plumbing DIY Projects
Learning how to be a good homeowner often takes trial and error, but there are some trials you should avoid from the start. The first one is completing do-it-yourself plumbing projects.
If you’re a professional plumber, handling your own repairs and projects is a smart way to save money. However, many homeowners decide to fix things themselves without any plumbing knowledge or experience.
So, what causes water damage? Many things lead to water damage in a home, but faulty plumbing is one of the top things.
For example, suppose you have an old faucet that keeps dripping. If you can’t stop the drip, you might replace the faucet yourself. If you don’t replace it properly, you might cause a water leak that you can’t even see.
When this happens, it could cause a lot of water to leak into your home, leaving you with all kinds of damage.
If you’re not a plumber, you should hire one for all your plumbing repairs, maintenance, and upgrades.
2. Ignoring Visible Plumbing Problems
Another one on the list of common homeowner mistakes that lead to water damage is ignoring visible plumbing problems. If you want to learn how to avoid water damage, you must address any issue you find, even small ones.
For example, if you see water puddling in a cabinet under a sink, you shouldn’t put a bucket there and ignore the problem.
The problem might be more serious than you think, and while a bucket will catch the water, you’re not addressing the problem. Instead, you’re simply putting a band-aid on it.
Anytime you notice a problem with your plumbing system, you should hire a plumber to examine it. If it’s not serious, the plumber will tell you. If it is a serious issue, they’ll fix it for you.
Here are several common problems that some homeowners ignore:
- Dripping faucets
- Water underneath sinks
- Water spots on the wall
- Moisture build-ups around windows
- Leaky plumbing fixtures or appliances
When you ignore an issue, you expose your home to the potential for water damage.
3. Failing to Maintain and Replace Appliances and Fixtures
You might realize that leaky plumbing fixtures lead to water damage, but did you know that your appliances can also cause water damage in your home?
Most appliances use water, which means they’re connected to your plumbing system. They might work fine for many years, but they can develop issues that cause water leaks in your house.
For example, a water heater can start leaking at any time. When this happens, it can create a huge mess in your home. A washing machine can also leak, leading to water damage.
You might also experience leaks with other appliances, including your dishwasher or refrigerator.
The best way to avoid these problems is to inspect your appliances regularly. If you see any puddling water near them, contact a plumber to find out if there is a problem.
You can also avoid these issues by maintaining your appliances and replacing them as needed. If you can avoid water damage, you can avoid hiring mold remediation experts, as mold accompanies most cases of water damage.
4. Forgetting About the Gutters
As a new homeowner, you might not understand the correlation between gutters and water damage. After all, how could your gutters affect water entering your home?
The gutters on your house serve a crucial role in handling rainwater. When rain lands on your roof, it rolls down naturally due to gravity. The water ends up in your gutters, and they transport it away from your house.
When a home doesn’t have gutters, rainwater can enter the house. Rainwater can also enter a home if the gutters have clogs in them.
The purpose of learning this is to understand how to avoid water damage in your home. If you neglect your gutter system, you might end up with a mess in your house.
To avoid this, you’ll need to ensure that your home has gutters. You’ll also need to make sure they’re clean and functioning properly.
5. Leaving Holes in the Grout
Finally, you should understand the purpose of grout in your home and with your plumbing fixtures. Grout is something you might not notice unless you’re looking for it, but you can typically find it by every plumbing fixture.
When a plumber installs a sink, shower, or toilet, they place a line of grout around the fixture. What is the purpose of grouting these areas? Grout stops water from entering places it doesn’t belong.
Grout wears out, though, which means you might need to replace it every couple of years. You can find out by examining the grout around your fixtures.
Do you see cracks in it? Are there holes?
If the grout has any cracks or holes or is missing, you should replace it right away. Without grout, your home is prone to water damage. A plumber can do this for you, but this is also a job you might be able to do yourself.
You Can Avoid Most Causes of Water Damages With the Right Maintenance
Water damages are a costly repair that you can’t handle yourself. If you can prevent water from seeping into your home, you won’t have to file an insurance claim or deal with a huge mess.
Did you enjoy this blog? If so, you can learn more about home repairs and prevention by checking out the rest of our site.
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