What to do in case of water damage?

In the middle of the night, the sound of water damage wakes you up. You jump out of bed at full speed expecting the worst. By going to the basement, you notice that the floor is covered with water! Disaster!

What to do?

The first thing to do is to find the source of the leak and several avenues are possible. If the problem is with a burst water supply hose or a faulty appliance, find the water inlet valve and turn it off. The quickest, in many cases, is to shut off the main water supply to the house and, at the same time, close the valve above the hot water tank. This way, we maximize our chances of stopping the leak.

The problem may also be with a broken hot water tank. This is why it is important to prevent by changing it, before or at the end of its warranty.

A sewer backup

In the event of a sewer back-up, there is little you can do to stop the bleeding, as this type of incident is often caused by a blockage of municipal pipes and by the malfunction or even the absence of a check valve at the outlet of your home’s drain. The best thing to do is to make sure that the floor drain is clear so that it can partially drain the damage.

Increase in the water table

Snowmelt or sudden flooding of rivers can cause the water table to increase in the ground. Thus, some houses can end up with serious problems of Water Damage Las Vegas. It is therefore important to check the proper functioning of your submersible pump a few times a year. It is even advisable to install a safety system that warns you when the pump does not start. Another possible option would be to install a second pump, positioning the float a little higher than the first. This way, if the first pump does not start, the second will take over.

Submersible pump fault

Another possible problem is your submersible pump malfunction, if your home has one, of course. This type of equipment is usually used to evacuate the excess rainwater that is in the French drain at the edge of the foundation. This is why it is important to check that it is working properly a few times a year.

If your home has a flat roof, the drain may be blocked and no longer doing its job. Thus, water accumulates and seeps through the edges of the roof. This type of problem is often caused in winter by the accumulation of ice at the mouth of the drain. For this problem, it is advisable to mount the drain or call in a roofing professional.

Contact your insurer

Once you have taken control of the emergency, you should notify your insurance broker so that action can be taken as soon as possible to avoid more problems, such as mold, for example.

The role of the insurer will be to send a team of first responders to your premises to ensure that the problem is resolved and that the parts affected by the damage are properly dried. Your insurer will then mandate a specialist appraiser to draw up a list of all the work to be done in detail. Using his equipment, he will be able to detect all the places that could contain humidity and form mold.

Once the assessment has been made, your insurer will offer you the services of a qualified contractor to carry out the renovation work. Note that it is also possible for you to request to have your own trusted contractor. However, he must hold a valid and compliant RBQ license.

Prevention is better than cure

In conclusion, a minimum of maintenance on your house each year can save you a lot of headaches. Make sure all water drainage systems are in good working order. So :

The gutters must be clear to evacuate the water a good distance from the foundations of the house towards the street and not towards your neighbors;
Your submersible pump must be in good working order and, why not, equipped with an alarm;
Your hot water tank must be in good condition and under warranty;
The drain of your flat roof must be clear all year round;
Floor drains in basement floors must not be blocked, but functional;
The plumbing and valves of your household appliances must be in good condition.