Autumn Water Damage in Your Canton Home

10/12/2020 (Permalink)

Don't let water damage ruin your autumn fun this year.

Often times, when we think of fall, we think of those cool and breezy, temperate days where the sun is shining through the colorful leaves. However, the weather can be quite nasty during those autumn months we love so much and during October, November, and December, the most amount of water damage claims are made on homeowners’ policies for the whole year.

Many times these claims are a result of freezing pipes – the quickly shifting temperatures of the fall can lead to pipes freezing and bursting and a ton of damage in your home or business. Fall storms, however, can also be a culprit for water damage. As the trees go dormant for the winter, dropping leaves and dead branches, you can run into a couple of problems in your home. The leaves and debris could clog up your gutters, preventing water from moving away from your home. The build-up of water could lead to leaky roofs or foundations allowing water inside your home. Additionally, windblown debris could do storm damage that might then leave space for water to enter your building.

Basic maintenance can help prevent some of these problems from happening at your home. Keep your gutters clean as the leaves fall and collect there and ensure that water is moving down the downspouts. Additionally, check the gradient of the land around your foundation, make sure that it is sloped away from your home to prevent water from collecting around your foundation. If your roof is in need of some TLC, spend a little time and money getting it repaired and hopefully save yourself from needing a full replacement.

To help prevent your pipes from freezing, try to make sure that any pipes that are located in unheated spaces are insulated. Keep your thermostat set above 55 degrees to prevent any freezing in the interior of your home. Additionally, it could help to open cupboards and doors to let heat into areas where vulnerable pipes might be located. Drain and winterize any outdoor faucets as well so that those particularly susceptible pipes don’t cause you any trouble.

Doing maintenance now can save you lots of trouble down the line. Of course, we trust that our homeowner’s insurance will have our back if anything goes wrong, but it would always be better to not have to deal with disaster at all. If disaster does strike at your home or business, make sure you call SERVPRO of Canton. We are faster to any disaster.