Protect Your Home Before the Rain and Cold Arrive

There are many culprits around your home that can open you up to a water damage loss. The most common sources of water damage we see are inside your home – in your kitchen, bathrooms and laundry room.

However, there are other well-known sources located outside of your home too. Remediating water damages can be costly, and small leaks that go unnoticed for an extended period of time can cause additional damage. So, as the cold and rainy weather approaches, you will be doing yourself a favor if you spend some time conducting a check-up of your exterior areas.

To reduce the opportunities for rainwater to intrude into your home, take a look around, paying attention to these areas:

• Inspect your roof – Be on the lookout for broken or missing tiles or cracked flashing. If you find any, make sure you have them repaired as soon as possible.
• Clean gutters and downspouts – Remove leaves, branches, and other debris to prevent rainwater from moving back up and under your roof tiles. Use a water hose to make sure your downspout is draining properly. If you notice a slow drain, you probably have a blockage that will need to be flushed out.
• Look for pooling of water around your foundation – The grading around your home should slope away from the foundation. If you find the grading around your home has shifted, you may need to call a professional to bring in some topsoil to re-grade the area. You will also want to make sure your downspouts are diverting the rain away from the foundation.
• Check the caulking around your windows and doors – Look for shrinkage, cracks or missing caulk which can occur over time. Use this link for a short DIY video on how to make the repairs yourself.
• Insulate outdoor pipes – In this region, we do not experience severe cold temperatures, but temperatures can drop to freezing during the night. To protect your exposed pipes from being damaged after a freeze, you can easily and inexpensively wrap them with foam tubes found at our local hardware store.

Despite taking preventative measures, water intrusions can still occur. If you find yourself with uninvited water in your home, do not delay to call Rapid Response Remediation. The faster the response to water intrusion, the quicker the dry down process can begin to prevent further damage. Our state-of-the-art equipment and techniques effectively allow us to dry your property with minimum damage to walls, cabinets, and floors, preventing you from having to replace the items and saving in reconstruction costs.