When it comes to water damage, it’s best to avoid it.
Water damage can cause extensive damage to your floors, walls, ceilings and valuables. For businesses, you may not have as many valuables in your building, but water can still cause extensive damage to structure and contents that can be very expensive to repair and replace.
If you plan to leave your home or business unattended for an extended period of time, there are a few things that you can do to help prevent water damage happening to your house or business from a water leak or burst water line.
It may not be feasible for you to take all of the preventive measures listed below, so we have sectioned out the steps you can take into 3 categories: good, better, and best. Just doing a few easy things can really help save you from potential major water damage repair costs.
Good
At the very least, we recommend that you turn off the main water supply valve that feeds into your home or commercial property. It is usually located at the front of the house or building, either inside in colder climates, or outside on the exterior of the building in warmer climates. You may have an underground box with a removable lid. If you were to have a water line burst in your home or building, this will prevent an endless amount of water from flowing into the space. With your supply valve turned to the OFF position, a leak will be limited to the water that fills your pipes. It will prevent catastrophic damage.
Better
A further step you can take to prevent water damage is to turn off all of your major water supply lines. Those are going to be the lines that go to your water heater, refrigerator, washer dryer, etc. For your water heater, just turn the water supply valve clockwise all the way until it is off. For your washer and dryer, you can just turn the water supply valves clockwise as well until they are all the way off. For your refrigerator supply line, you may have to go down into your basement where the valve is located. It should be a 1/4″ plastic or copper line that connects with a copper water supply pipe. Turn the valve to the off position.
Best
Draining your water heater is a good preventative measure as well that you can take to prevent a leak or rust-out in your water heater. Depending on where your water heater is located, it could cause considerable damage if it were to occur.
If you have any questions about water damage or property restoration, give us a call. We are here to help.
