Water damage prevention tips

3/5/2018 (Permalink)

Decluttered and Organized spaces is a great way to protect your contents when water damage occurs at your home.

Water damage to your property is a very devastating experience. It gets into the tinniest of spaces and travels like a winding stream. That is because water has found the weak spot in any material and followed it. Have you ever had a sump pump fail or a busted water pipe? You unknowingly step in water and wonder where in the world is this coming from?

As you follow the water trail, you notice contents in your home are wet. It’s no big deal just the outside of the box is wet, Right? Keep following the water trail and now you know you have a bigger problem. Your entire floor is covered with water!

First things first – stop or turn off the water source, wither it be a water line or the sump pump. Turn off the main water line or just the affected portion to fix the pipe. Replace or fix the sump pump is that is the culprit. Either call a plumber or fix it yourself. Big thing is to stop the source of the leak to prevent more water damage.

Second call SERVPRO of Southwest Grand Rapids to extract the water and dry out your home.

But what about all your contents that got damaged? How can you protect your personal belongings from being ruined by water? Here are a few suggestions:

• Invest in Plastic totes with lids to store items instead of cardboard.
• Annual declutter clean. Take time each year to go through your items and use the Keep, Donate or Trash pile system.   If it’s broke, trash it. If you have used in the last year and foresee usage in the next year keep it. If it doesn’t fit, haven’t used in the last year or more, donate it.
• Make sure you have the proper insurance coverage for your contents, in the event they do get damaged.
• Remember to winterize your pipes.
• Perform annual maintenance on your sump pump.
• Know where the main the water shut off valve to stop the water from pipes.

Being prepared to prevent damage is always a great measure to take, but do you know who to call when disaster strikes your property? Call SERVPRO® of Southwest Grand Rapids at 616-662-9700, we’re here to help!