Three Water Damage Woes
Water damage. Two words that can hold a lot of water—and STRESS—for homeowners and businesses alike. Here are three of the most common water damage culprits to watch for in safeguarding and maintaining your property.
Plumbing leaks. From pinhole-sized, slow-dripping leaks in pipe seals to complete pipe breakage, plumbing failure can be a water damage nightmare. The slow drips may take a while to reveal themselves but watch for blistering or discoloration of painted walls as well as soft spots in the drywall. You may smell seeping water damage before you see it, so investigate any musty smells. Sometimes you may even hear dripping that you can’t link to a faucet because it’s out of sight within a wall.
Don’t dismiss the potential early signs of a leak. It’s worth a professional evaluation to possibly avoid a total pipe failure that could make an aquarium of your walls. Water Extraction Experts offer inspections if you think you have a pipe leak. Give us a call.
Water heater leaks. Over time, sediments in water can build up and cause issues within a water heater tank. The sediments harden and can even be heard making a banging noise inside the tank as the water heats. As the water below the sediment boils, it thrashes the sediment around. The metal of the tank can only take so much of that abuse and can eventually be punctured by the sediment—releasing all that hot water all over the surrounding floor.
Other signs of trouble for your water heater are rusty residue in your hot water or consistent water on the surrounding floor. Make a habit of checking your water heater every few months. If you notice any of these issues, make a service appointment.
Toilet seal failures. Beneath every properly installed toilet, there’s a gooey wax ring keeping the water you flush heading straight through the waste line and not out onto the floor. The rings also seal out smelly and potentially hazardous waste gases from backing up into your home. Wax rings have an important job and it’s a particularly unpleasant water damage mess if they’re not replaced when they first start to break down. It’s not uncommon for a wax ring to fail.
If you smell sewage, see water on the floor around the toilet (especially long after the last hot shower where the steam made the toilet “sweat”), or the toilet seems like it’s no longer sitting stably, the wax ring likely needs to be replaced. It’s also wise to have the surrounding floor evaluated for water damage. Be sure to call us because a wax ring failure is a category 3 in water damage…meaning there are significant health risks and special clean-up must be done.
Case Study: Fort Collins, CO Pipe Leak Water Damage
Problem:
Master bathroom renovation in Fort Collins, Colorado included new baseboards. When baseboards were being placed a nail nicked the water supply pipe to shower causing a pinhole. The customer noticed water leak approx. 5 hours after the initial damage occurred to the pipe. Water damage included bathroom wall on the second floor, first-floor ceiling, walls and wood floor, as well as the basement.
Solution:
Water Extraction Experts quickly assessed the situation in Fort Collins, CO and brought in certified technicians to set-up equipment to dry out the ceilings, floors, and walls so damage was minimized and health risks wouldn’t occur.
Outcome:
Damage was minimized and wood floors didn’t need to be replaced saving the customer thousands of dollars in repairs.
Case Study: Rio Rancho, NM Toilet Wax Ring Failure Water Damage
Problem:
Water Extraction Experts in New Mexico were called by a customer due to ceiling damage caused by a toilet wax ring failure.
Solution:
Water Extraction Expert’s certified technicians immediately took action at containing the leak at this Rio Rancho, NM property. Because this was a category 3 water damage project (black water due to sewage), special procedures were taken for cleaning up, drying out and sanitizing the property.
Results:
Water Extraction Expert’s quick response enabled the property owners to get back to business with minimal damage done to the property.
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With over 100 years of combined experience in water damage restoration, mold removal and sewage clean-up and fire and smoke damage restoration—you can count on us.