A Flooded Home Starts with Small Leaks
A flooded home starts with small leaks. This is what we say everyday when people ask us, “How did this happen?” A busted pipe, an overflowing toilet or a split washing machine hose all begin small and grow to much larger problems resulting in great damage and expensive repairs.
To avoid this happening to you, we’ve created a short list of the most common small issues that become home disasters faster than you think. Those include:
Corroded water heater – small leaks, due to corrosion will result in bigger leaks if not repaired and often result in flooded basements.
Loose ice-maker hose – a loose or fallen off water supply hose to the ice-maker can cause slowly dripping water, which in the long run can fill the floor with water until the drywall gives in and dumps a flood of water into the basement.
Split washing machine or dishwasher hose – the water supply hoses of appliances can fail or loosen after years and years of moving and usage. Those flooding start with a small leak before the pipes split completely.
Pipe ruptures – every water supply line in the house can face corrosion and rust over time, which creates small pinhole leaks until a rupture occurs, causing flooding.
How to Prevent a Small Leaks from Becoming a Flooded Home
To prevent having a flooded home there are several steps you can take to prevent small leaks from becoming big leaks. These include:
- Annually maintain pipes and plumbing fixtures
- Use a water meter to detect leaks. Read the water meter outside and note the amount. Do not use water for two hours and read the meter again. If the number differentiates you have a leak. Now the search can begin
- Know how to turn off your main water supply, so you can react fast in case of a big leak and minimize the damage
- Install a flood sensor, which will send you an alert when a leak is detected. This provides you with enough time to shoot of the water and fixes the leak while it is small