Water leakage – how to mitigate the impact on the house as well as save the neighbouring properties?
Some drippings
First and foremost, the drippings from pipes, fittings and plumbing mixture are an essential cause for water waste at your property. The results from a survey show that a typical home loses in the range of 7.6 m3 to 76 m3 of water due to water leakage. Of course, some leaks at the home are easy to spot others are hidden, still whatever the source of the leak is, it should be detected as soon as possible and the problem should be tackled. The easiest way for detection in case of water leakage is to check your water meter.
Here’s the procedure:
- ensure that you have turned off the water inside and outside the home; besides there should be no automatic equipment using water at that particular time;
- write down the water-metre readings and wait for 15 minutes;
- check the readings again; in case the metre has recorded some water usage during those 15 minutes it certainly points out to some water-leakage problem in your property.
Secondly, water leakage at your property may cause severe damage to your home. Be adviced that unless you fix the leak immediately it can cause further flooding of the flat or house and in severe cases even ground movement.
What’s more, it is essential to note that if the leak tuns out to be on one of the pipes inside your property, the person responsible for the repair works is you; the town authorities or water company is responsible only for the water supply up to the boundary of the property.
So before the situation at your home has got from bad to worse and before the flooding due to some water leakage at your property has even affected the neighbours look for tell-tale signs that can help you spot the leakage the earliest:
- wet patches outside or inside the flat or house – on the walls, ceiling, even the floor;
- leaking toilets;
- leaking overflow systems;
- lush vegetation in dry periods could be an indication of leaking pipes at the property.
In case you spot any of the above-mentioned signs, you can apply the procedure with the water metre just to double check and to be most sure that what you’ve noticed is really some water leakage at your property. If it turns out to be such then you need to take measures as soon as possible so that not to end up with flooded home and angry neighbours since it is most likely that the flooding will spread to their property as well once it has started and no precaution measures are taken.
Be adviced that if you have a leak in your property you should have it fixed as soon as possible.
What’s more remember to check your home insurance policy in case you have such, that is, as it might cover you for leaks on the supply pipe. Or the best scenario is if you have a separate insurance policy that covers home water ;leakage in particular.
The best measures for tackling the water leakage problem are to get in touch with an experienced plumber or approved contractor.
Furthermore, water damage is a problem that most home owners are truly scared of. As water leakage could not be the only cause of flooding at your property and the neighbouring once. Say, if it is raining cats and dogs outside or the snow is melting quickly, the risk of water damage at your house or flat is pretty much increased as well. Although water is essential for our lives, it can cause severe damage to our homes and respectively our health; it can damage wood furniture, upholstery, electronics, household appliances and plumbing equipment. Besides, water damage also increases the risk of mold growth both at your property and the neighbours’ once if they are affected, that is. Then mold growth could turn even into a bigger problem that is harder to remediate and more dangerous for your health in case of toxic black mold growth. Thus it is probably best to hire some water-damage restoration company that can handle the whole remediation process pretty fast before the water damage that has occurred at your property spreads to the neighbouring ones. Besides these companies employ experienced specialists, who know the best and fastest ways to repair damages and help with the clean-up process that follows each and every water-damage occurrence at the property.
Additionally, the follow-up is the water-damage restoration process, which is pretty essential. Of course, the success of the whole process depends heavily on the severity of the damage as much as on the expert help you are to receive from some water-damage restoration company. Those companies may even hire outside experts to assess your property and the neighbouring ones, if needed, so that to design the best water restoration and removal plan. Besides, those companies use high-tech equipment and well-documented procedure to control the water damage, so it is not wise to try to handle some severe water damage at your property alone since you are not a specialist and ifmaking a mistake your whole house or flat could be ruined and the damage will certainly spread to the neighbouring properties, which will leave you with the perspective of paying the remediation process not only of your home but the neighbours’ ones as well.
Last but not least, water in the basement area requires only a short clean-up process; otherwise water in your property or even the neighbouring ones require extensive remediation.
So finally, be wise and never leave things to chance – if it so happens that your property gets struck by some water-damage accident act immediately on the spot and hire specialist that can help you deal with the problem in the best way possible.