Winter Snow to Spring Rain: How to Avoid Major Water Damage to Your Home
This season's excessive snowfall can lead to significant water damage to your home if you are unprepared. The accumulation of snow and ice is trouble enough but in the late days of winter another threat can cause significant damage and repair cost. It's commonly referred to as rain.
The transition from winter to spring is notorious for extreme weather. Experiencing a large winter storm that drops a lot of snow or ice can be followed a few days later by a quick rise in temperatures above 50 degrees. These temperatures are usually accompanied by major rain and high winds. When this series of events occurs it can lead to major water and flood damage to your home.
The main cause for water damage is simply that water has no other place to go except for inside your home. We've all heard the old saying that water finds its own level. This is especially true when the rain and melting snow has no outlet because of piles of it around your foundation or ice dams on your roof. Both are huge threats for water seeping water in your basement or between the walls and can lead to structural damage and mold problems if not taking care of quickly. Here are several areas around your home to keep an eye on this spring to avoid major water damage.
Be Aware Of Melting Snow And Ice
When the temperature fluctuates above and below the freezing level there is the potential for water damage problems. Check outside your home for areas of water running and pooling close to the structure. It's best to remove piles of snow, ice and debris that inhibit the natural flow away from the house. Water will find a way into the home if it has no other route to flow.
Check For Ice Dams On The Roof
A quick freeze-thaw cycle can cause major damage to the inside of your home's interior walls and ceilings. When heat from the interior of a building with a sloped roof escapes into the attic space, it warms the underside of the roof. Meanwhile, the roof eaves outside the heated space remains a colder temperature. As snow accumulates on the rooftop, it melts over the warmer portion of the attic and runs down the roof. When it encounters the cold edge of the roof it refreezes. The refrozen water along the roof edge creates an "ice dam" that leads to water seeping under the roofing material and into the interior walls.
Remove Snow Away From Your Foundation
The most frequent cause of water in your basement during the spring is from drainage problems outside and around the home. Older basements are full of cracks due to years of shifting and settling, poor drainage outside allows melting snow and ice water to seep into the basement causing unwanted water damage. Left unchecked it can cause major financial loss and unhealthy mold accumulation.
Your basement is probably leaking because the soil surrounding the foundation has become over saturated due to thawing closest to the brick or concrete first. After a long, cold winter, the heat exchange from the inside to outside walls in the foundation softens the soil allows water to seep through the cracks. Remember, water finds its own level and it will flow to the cracks first.
Make Sure Your Sump Pump Works
It's easy to take your sump pump for granted and think it will always work effectively. Some people don't even know what a sump pump looks like, but when you get water in your basement, your soon realize their importance.
Sump pump failure is one of the most common causes for basement water damage. When it happens there is no way to remove water from the basement automatically and major water damage results. To safeguard yourself from this potential situation, it is wise to have a backup pump installed next to your primary pump. It is also a good idea to have battery backup system in case of power outages.
The key to major problems is that once you discover water damage, don't wait to a water damage restoration professional for help. Damage from water and bacteria growth can begin within hours. Although cleaning up the damage is important, the problem will only reoccur if the area is not kept dry. The best defense is keeping your home dry and water tight. This begins with proper awareness of potential problem areas and understanding the effects of sudden changes in the weather patterns and big swings in the temperature.
The transition from winter to spring is notorious for extreme weather. Experiencing a large winter storm that drops a lot of snow or ice can be followed a few days later by a quick rise in temperatures above 50 degrees. These temperatures are usually accompanied by major rain and high winds. When this series of events occurs it can lead to major water and flood damage to your home.
The main cause for water damage is simply that water has no other place to go except for inside your home. We've all heard the old saying that water finds its own level. This is especially true when the rain and melting snow has no outlet because of piles of it around your foundation or ice dams on your roof. Both are huge threats for water seeping water in your basement or between the walls and can lead to structural damage and mold problems if not taking care of quickly. Here are several areas around your home to keep an eye on this spring to avoid major water damage.
Be Aware Of Melting Snow And Ice
When the temperature fluctuates above and below the freezing level there is the potential for water damage problems. Check outside your home for areas of water running and pooling close to the structure. It's best to remove piles of snow, ice and debris that inhibit the natural flow away from the house. Water will find a way into the home if it has no other route to flow.
Check For Ice Dams On The Roof
A quick freeze-thaw cycle can cause major damage to the inside of your home's interior walls and ceilings. When heat from the interior of a building with a sloped roof escapes into the attic space, it warms the underside of the roof. Meanwhile, the roof eaves outside the heated space remains a colder temperature. As snow accumulates on the rooftop, it melts over the warmer portion of the attic and runs down the roof. When it encounters the cold edge of the roof it refreezes. The refrozen water along the roof edge creates an "ice dam" that leads to water seeping under the roofing material and into the interior walls.
Remove Snow Away From Your Foundation
The most frequent cause of water in your basement during the spring is from drainage problems outside and around the home. Older basements are full of cracks due to years of shifting and settling, poor drainage outside allows melting snow and ice water to seep into the basement causing unwanted water damage. Left unchecked it can cause major financial loss and unhealthy mold accumulation.
Your basement is probably leaking because the soil surrounding the foundation has become over saturated due to thawing closest to the brick or concrete first. After a long, cold winter, the heat exchange from the inside to outside walls in the foundation softens the soil allows water to seep through the cracks. Remember, water finds its own level and it will flow to the cracks first.
Make Sure Your Sump Pump Works
It's easy to take your sump pump for granted and think it will always work effectively. Some people don't even know what a sump pump looks like, but when you get water in your basement, your soon realize their importance.
Sump pump failure is one of the most common causes for basement water damage. When it happens there is no way to remove water from the basement automatically and major water damage results. To safeguard yourself from this potential situation, it is wise to have a backup pump installed next to your primary pump. It is also a good idea to have battery backup system in case of power outages.
The key to major problems is that once you discover water damage, don't wait to a water damage restoration professional for help. Damage from water and bacteria growth can begin within hours. Although cleaning up the damage is important, the problem will only reoccur if the area is not kept dry. The best defense is keeping your home dry and water tight. This begins with proper awareness of potential problem areas and understanding the effects of sudden changes in the weather patterns and big swings in the temperature.
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