Water is fun and refreshing for you, but water can be severely damaging to your home. If you don’t take the proper steps to prevent and immediately identify water leaks, you are at risk for major structural damages that could be extremely expensive. In some cases, when water leaks are not treated early, they can lead to the condemnation of an entire home. Let’s see the five most common ways that water leaks can ruin your home.
Rust And Corrosion
Metal pipes and joints that come into contact with water will start to corrode over time. The more the metal corrodes, such as in your piping, the bigger the leak can become. In addition, any water that is still flowing partially through the corroded pipe could pick up unhealthy rust chemicals that can be harmful to your health.
Destroy Personal Belongings
Furniture, rugs, books, documents, bedding, clothing, and other personal items can be damaged when water leaks occur in your home. It doesn’t have to be a major flood for your items to be rendered unusable. Rather, small water leaks that go undetected for months on end can damage those personal items that you don’t regularly come into contact with, such as boxes stored in the basement.
For this reason, we highly recommend that you invest in some flood sensors. Flood detectors make easy work of identifying leaks before damage occurs so you can be sure your valuable personal belongings don’t get destroyed. Monitoring by ADT combined with flood sensors means you don’t have to worry about flooding as they will be able to alert you and call in the necessary reinforcements to ensure the water damage is taken care of quickly in the event it happens to your home.
Rot Out Walls
Pipe tends to be run through walls in many homes. When small leaks, such as at a seal or a joint on a pipe, can lead to water drips in between the walls. This area is not well ventilated so the moisture stays trapped inside. This can lead to mold and mildew growth that will not only put the structural integrity of your home at risk but can also put your family and you at risk for respiratory problems.
Costly Under Slab Repairs
Most homes will have some sort of piping that runs underneath the concrete slab that the home was built on. When leaks occur under this slab, they can be extremely costly. Since you can’t really see the leak, it can be hard to detect it until a major burst occurs which results in low or no water pressure. This type of water leak can be very costly for the fact that the plumbing company will need to tear up the concrete slab to perform the repairs.
Shorted Wires / Fire Hazards
When water comes into contact with electrical wiring, it can cause shortages and lead to a potential fire. This is particularly common in the attic or ceiling where there is a leaky roof present. In addition, these shorted or hot wires can cause potential for electric shock for anyone who touches them.
As you can clearly see, there are many ways that water can be extremely damaging to your home. Taking the necessary preventative measures to protect your home against damaging and costly leaks is recommended. If you notice a water leak, no matter how small, you should contact a plumber immediately to ensure it doesn’t lead to more problems in the future.
