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Fire & Water - Cleanup & Restoration

SERVPRO Preventing Holiday Water Damage

12/23/2019 (Permalink)

One of the joys of the holidays is gathering with friends and family. If you’re planning to have guests in your home this season, be prepared! Holiday celebrations can lead to water damage if you’re not careful. 

SERVPRO is here to help make sure your holidays stay merry and disaster-free. Here are some of the common causes of water damage during the holidays and easy steps you can take to avoid them. 

Naughty Appliances

Many guests want to pitch in and help around the house. Whether they eagerly volunteer to wash dishes or decide to toss in a load of laundry, appliances aren’t all the same. User error can quickly lead to significant water damage!

Prevent mishaps by typing up simple instructions for appliances your guests might use, like washing machines, dishwashers, and ice makers. The most important appliances to consider are ones that use a lot of water. Pay extra attention to machines that have “quirks” or special instructions. Make sure your guests know the limitations of your appliances. 

Bathtime Blunders

Are you anticipating hosting young children in your home? An overflowing bathtub or sink might seem far-fetched, but if you get enough enthusiastic cousins together, anything is possible. Or perhaps “slightly-absent-minded Uncle Andy” fails to pull the shower curtain all the way closed, letting copious amounts of water spill out of the shower. 

There are plenty of opportunities for bathtime blunders when you host lots of people at once. These incidents can cause severe water damage to your walls, floors, and other building material

Prevent bathtime havoc by making sure everyone knows how to use tricky faucets. Make people aware of any areas prone to leaking or other quirks in your bathrooms. Provide extra towels for people to mop up splashes and spills quickly. 

Take a moment each day to check the bathrooms for leaks or water damage. It’s best to catch it early before the damage spreads or mold and mildew have a chance to grow. 

People like to open windows… even in winter.

Everyone has their own opinion about the ideal temperature. Some people might be sweating while others pull on another sweater. Some guests might opt to crack open a window in their bedroom for a little extra ventilation. If they forget to close the window, rain, snow, or sleet can cause water damage to the window, wall, and surrounding areas. The cold draft can also cause nearby pipes to freeze

Check the windows around your home regularly, especially if precipitation is in the forecast. Consider providing fans to help discourage guests from opening windows at all. 

Plumbing Problems

More people in your home can put a strain on your plumbing. The additional showers, extra toilet flushes, and other activities around the house can lead to clogged drains or backed-up toilets, messy and unsanitary leaks, overflows, flooding, and water damage. 

It’s critical to clean up contaminated water quickly and with the right chemicals to avoid health problems. If any clogs or overflows lead to more than minor spills, call SERVPRO to make sure all the contaminated water is cleaned correctly. Our technicians will also ensure there isn’t any water damage under the surface.

If you’re traveling, prevent water damage while you’re away

Did you know you’re 40% more likely to experience water damage during the cold winter months? Yet, most people don’t turn off the water main in their home before leaving for the holidays. 

A single leak or burst pipe can cost well over $1,000 to repair, even if you catch it early. Turn off and drain the water in the outside spigots during winter months when they aren’t in use. Keep your home thermostat above 55 degrees F (some experts recommend keeping the temperature at 65 degrees or warmer). 

Open all your inside doors to keep the air circulating, especially while you’re away. You should also open cabinet doors to let warm airflow around the pipes under your sinks and appliances. 

Get peace of mind with leak detectors

Whether you’re hosting family for the holidays or traveling for any length of time, consider placing water leak detectors in critical areas around your home. Put sensors in areas that are most prone to water damage: around the washer, under your kitchen sink, near the water heater, and even in the bathroom. 

The sensors send an alert as soon as it detects a leak. Some leak detectors can even automatically shut off the water once it senses a leak! These simple little devices might save you thousands of dollars in water damage by catching leaks at the source.

If your home experiences water damage this holiday season, contact SERVPRO as quickly as possible! Our friendly technicians can handle any kind of water damage and restore your house quickly. We can even help you with insurance claims. 




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