What You Need To Know About Water Damage
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Water damage are two of the scariest words a homeowner can hear. We all know what it entails, but few, unless you have unfortunately lived through a burst pipe, storm or leaky roof, know exactly what caused the flood, how much it costs to repair, how to replace the damaged floors, walls and insulation and finally, how to ensure it never happens again. Heating and Cooling Toronto
Below is everything you need to know about water damage inside the home. I will go over some of the most common causes, the costs to repair and a few safety/precautionary tips for all water damage.
Get It Fixed Fast!
If you took one piece of advice away from this article, it’s that you must remove the water and get it fixed as soon as possible. The longer you wait when dealing with water damage, the worse the overall damage will be. Unlike fires that you can put out, water will continue to flow throughout your home, through your walls and floors until it is completely removed. This leaves a lot of different, and complicated, repairs to be made.
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Once called, a good restoration company will remove the standing water using various pumps, water suction tools and high-powered fans. They may have to cut into walls and insulation to see how high the damage goes. Additionally, the specialists or an electrician may have to cut wires and repair certain electric lines throughout the home.
As you can probably guess, if you do not call a pro right away, mold could grow, cause health problems and greatly increase your water restoration bill.
Water Damage Repair Costs
Given the extent of the damage, and the health issues at play (mold), repairing water damage is not cheap. Furthermore, more often than not, the process of removing the water and actually repairing the damage usually come in two separate expenses.
According to our disaster recovery cost estimators, it costs just over $2,000 to remove standing water and $1,796 to repair a water-damaged home. As I said, this price can largely fluctuate based on the extent of the damage, the size of your home and of course, how much water infiltrated the foundation. Moreover, the longer the water remains standing in the home, the more extensive and expensive the repairs will be.
Common Causes of Standing Water & Water Damage
There are obvious causes of standing water, but others many homeowners would not guess. Those causes include:
- Floods
- Burst pipes
- Leaky roof
- Frozen pipes bursting
- Failed bathtub or toilet seal
- Broken sump pump
- Blocked drainage pipe
- Failed gutters and downspouts
- Foundation malfunction
- Improper grading
- Broken irrigation system
Removing Standing Water
The process of removing standing water largely depends on the cause. If a storm caused the flooding, you may have to wait until the water recedes from around the home. If it was a pipe, a plumber and/or electrician needs to get to work right away. Just know that if this occurs during non-business hours, expect to pay overtime fees.
While we do encourage our fans to try out as many DIY projects as possible, removing standing water is not the safest. On top of the hidden hazards such as rats, live electricity and other dangers, the overall risk of mold and further damage to the home is not worth the DIY experience.
Nonetheless, if you do want to take a stab at it, please see Cleaning Up Your Home After A Flood.
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