How to prevent costly water damage to your Santa Rafael home

When I think of summertime, I think of running through the sprinklers with my family, drinking cold lemonade, and showering after a long day in the sun. Like all of you, the last thing that comes to my mind is flooding or water damage in my home. For homeowners in the San Rafael area, we at Bravo Restoration have put together a list of little things you can do now, to prevent water damage and cleanup costs later. Here they are: 

1. Turn off your water during vacation. For weekend trips of week-long family get-togethers, turn off the water to your home to prevent leaks while you won’t be home to notice or do anything about them. 
2. Monitor your water pressure. Water pressure that is too high can cause unnecessary stress on your pipes, increasing the likelihood of cracks and leaks. You can purchase a water pressure monitor that can be self installed online, or at a hardware store. 
3. Don’t run the dishwasher or washer while you’re away from home. If something goes wrong, it’s nice to be home so that you can catch the problem right away and prevent massive flood-like damages. 
4. Maintain your roof, downspouts, and gutters. Fix any problems (like dents or blockages) that prevent water from running freely, causing standing water. Point any rain downspouts away from the surfaces of your home. 
5. Pay attention to your appliances. Regularly inspect them and replace things where needed. It is so much cheaper to replace a brittle appliance hose now that it will be to clean up a laundry room flood 5 months down the line. Cracking, brittleness, discoloration, moisture, funky odors or bulging are all signs that you’re walking a fine line.
6. Watch your water bill. If you carefully check your water bill each month, you’ll start to know how much to expect on a given month, and you can compare your expectation to the actual number. Many small leaks in your home can go unnoticed for a while, but they are easier to catch if you can notice one month that there is a jump in your water bill. That water is going somewhere! Make sure it isn’t leaking onto something, causing damage. 
7. Insulate your pipes. Freezing pipes are one of the top causes for water damage in homes. The summer is a great time to insulate pipes while you’re thinking about it and it’s warm outside. Call a professional for help, or purchase a product, such as heat-insulating tape, at a local hardware store. 
8. Pay attention to little signs. Watch for signs of water damage on windowsills, in the corners of rooms, on ceilings, and anywhere where you’ve historically had water damage in your home. Fix the problem upon the first signs of discoloration, mustiness, water-caused warping, bulging, or wetness. 

If you’ve found water damage in your home already, call for professional help. Getting help quickly is crucial to saving time and money when fixing a water damage problem. For water damage cleanup help in the San Rafael area, Bravo Restoration (BRC) would be honored to be your first call and resource throughout the whole cleanup process.