Common Situations that Need Water Restoration

Homeowners and businessowners can need water restoration services for a wide variety of reasons – everything from the routine (like a flooded basement after heavy rain) to the bizarre (like a tub that was turned on by a household pet and left running over the weekend). We have truly seen it all! However, these are the most common situations that require local water restoration services:

• Broken Pipes

Broken pipes are the most common cause for water damage. Whether it’s an old, brittle pipe that cracks or a frozen pipe that bursts, a broken pipe can pour 50-210 gallons of water into your home per minute depending on the size of the pipe. Larger commercial pipes can dump up to 3,400 gallons of water per minute. The sheer quantity of water combined with the likelihood of a pipe failure makes this the number one cause for home damage.

• Hot Water Heater Malfunction

A hot water tank stores a large amount of water and can draw water quickly, which is why a hot water heater can absolutely cause home water damage when it malfunctions. If hot water is leaking from your water tank, it can not only cause damage to your home, but injure you. Call an emergency plumber if water is leaking from your hot water tank to get it fixed and then have a restoration company clean it up immediately afterwards.

• Leaking Appliance

Home appliances that use water, like washing machines, dishwashers, or water softeners, have the capability to leak or overflow, resulting in water damage in your laundry room, basement, or kitchen. Because these have hookups behind the appliances, under cabinets, and in other hard to reach locations, water leaks can go without detection much longer than they would in other locations. For this reason, appliances can cause extensive water damage as well as facilitate mold growth along baseboards, behind drywall, and underneath the appliances themselves.

• Overflowing Toilet

An overflowing toilet may seem like a minor problem, but if it isn’t detected immediately, it can quickly flood your bathroom, causing water damage not only in the bathroom itself, but also in any rooms below your bathroom. It always surprises homeowners to see how much water can come from your toilet when a malfunction allows a toilet to keep trying to fill, letting the water leak from the tank or overflow from the bowl.

• Leaking Roof

An old or poorly constructed roof can leak even without extreme weather, allowing water damage in attics or upper floors.

• Natural Disaster

A flood, mudslide, hurricane, tropical storm, or even blizzard can bring extreme amounts of water up against and into your home. Natural disasters can not only flood homes, but also wash them away. The flooding that results from an external force like a natural disaster is typically deeper and more dangerous than a flooded home from an internal cause because it can bring in trash, natural debris, sewage, and even animals.

• Fire

When emergency crews respond to a home fire, they will put it out as quickly as possible using any means necessary, which often involves pumping a lot of water into a home. After a fire, a home not only has smoke and fire damage, but also water damage that needs to be cleaned up. Use a local restoration company that can handle all three issues at once.

• Sewer Backup

If sewer lines back up, raw sewage can enter your home, creating a disgusting and dangerous situation. If this happens, do not try to clean it up yourself. You need a professional restoration company to remove the black water safely and clean up the mess to avoid toxic bacteria and mold growth.

• Clogged Gutters or Downspouts

Water drainage should direct water away from your home. However, when you have clogged gutters or downspouts the water runs down your home and then pools next to your home or is forced up against your foundation. When this happens, water can enter your basement leading to flooding.

• Landscaping Sloping

If your property isn’t sloped correctly, water can run towards your home instead of away from your home. This results in the same effect as a clogged downspout or gutter, allowing water to build up against your home and forcing it in window and door seals, your foundation, or any other vulnerable entry point.

• Broken Sump Pump

When water is in the position to enter your basement and cause problems, a sump pump should pump that water out to avoid a flood. However, when your sump pump fails, it can’t do it’s job and water will enter unhindered.

• Irrigation Issues

A lawn irrigation system has piping that runs into your home to tie the entire plumber system together. When the shut off in your basement or garage for your irrigation system fails or the pipes out to the underground components leak, water can build up in your home, causing flooding like any other broken pipe.

• Seasonal Stressors

Depending on where you live, the spring thaw season or fall rainy season can exacerbate weaknesses in your home, causing recurring flooding.

• Fire Sprinkler Malfunction

Businesses that have ceiling mounted fire sprinklers must take care to ensure that they aren’t damaged because a broken fire sprinkler can spray an incredible amount of water into a room very quickly because its job is to squelch a fire.

If you have experienced any of these issues, resulting in residential or commercial water damage, give the pros a call. A local water restoration company can get your home or business restored as quickly as possible. Water companies have the tools and crews need to clean up even the biggest spaces effectively the first time. 

Additional resources:
Why do I Have a Flood?
Recurring Basement Flooding
Who Can Fix My Flooded Basement?
Basement Flood - What's Next?
Hard Rain that Causes Basement Flooding
Water Coming Up Through The Floor
What To Do After Water Damage
Water Restoration 101
Who does Local Water Restoration?
What Classifies as a Water Emergency?
What To Do when You Find a Water Damaged Wall
Get Help when Your Basement is Flooding
Fixing Ceiling Water Damage
Who Can Replace Drywall after a Wall gets Water Damage?
Cleaning a Basement after a Flood
Getting Help when Water is Coming in your Basement