Simple Ways To Help Prevent Water Damage Losses

Everybody wants lake front property until the lake is IN your home. The following list includes things you can do to help prevent disaster caused by your plumbing system. Following these easy steps now could help avoid some of the most common kinds of losses in the future.

1. Replace your toilet flex line and washing machine, refrigerator, and dishwasher hoses with steel braided hoses with metal fittings. Old hoses can wear out and break causing an irritating and sometimes devastating mess. Some insurance companies believe that this step is so important that they will even reimburse you for the new, braided hoses.

2. Address any plumbing problems such as leaking pipes, leaky shower pans or “hot floor” slab leaks before they cause major damage. Inspect your plumbing system for repair or replacement before the end of it’s useful life.

3. Consider installing a smart home leak detection device to avoid flooding catastrophes. These systems can mitigate costly damage through automatic shutoff, and diagnose potential problems in a plumbing system before they become an issue.

Products like Flo by Moen or the Uponor Phyn Plus are what we recommend.

4. Your average tank-style water heater has a typical life span of about 10 years. Like any appliance, wear and tear and the inescapable effects of time degrade the connections or even the tank itself, and inevitably, something gives. Having your water heater inspected yearly can help prevent the devastating damage of a slow leak, or even worse- an explosion.

Making any or all of these changes will drastically reduce the chances of some serious damage in your home. When you consider the statistics, it becomes clear just how common and devastating a problem water damage can be. According to industry estimates, 14,000 people in the US experience a water damage emergency at home or work each day, and 98% of basements in the US will suffer from some type of water damage during their lifetime.

The costs are just as staggering as the frequency. Water damage and mold cost the insurance industry $2.5 billion dollars per year, and the average cost of a home water damage insurance claim is $6,965. All of it is easily avoidable by taking the right precautions.