Flooding In The Home

It was extraordinarily icy this winter season. Normally the winters here are mild to cold, but this year took the prize! Electricity was cut off as a result of the ice storm. Trees were coated with ice as thick as two inches the most. Although we had no power for four days, we were still grateful that it didn't last for two months like the others experienced. We miss having hot water even if we had kept the fire burning in the fireplace. We only used it to heat ourselves and our food. There were times that the temperature in the rooms we locked reached 42 degrees. The kitchen and the laundry room in the house started to smell like mold and mildew as soon as the ice melted. There was a leak in the house but unfortunately we were not able to discover its source. We searched the source of the leak for days, until we came upon a pipe connecting to the washing machine. It broke down because it got brittle after the freezing. However, we were too late because a lot of things were already destroyed. So we cleaned up and had the repairman fix it. As of now, everything is fine.

Flooding and waters leaking inside the house has many causes, however the chief perpetrator is the washing machine. It is a no-brainer that this is a serious and health threatening situation, not to mention the expense. Catastrophe can really strike if your house has leaks coming from faucets, toilets, hoses, water heaters, washing machines, roof pipes and in between the house and meter.

If you leave a faucet to drip for a day, sum up the gallons and it could reach to 20 of just wasted water. If you add that in a year, 7,300 gallons of water wasted! It's no joke! That's a huge amount of water to waste. What's worse than that is a toilet with water seeping out. In a day, it can waste 100 gallons of water. That adds up to 36,500 gallons a year!

If your water bill is higher than normal and your water usage did not increase, it could be a sign you have a water leak. To know if there really is a leak in the house, simply shut off all the faucets and sources of running water in the house. Look at your initial meter reading. Afterwards, check again after an hour has passed. It confirms that there is a leak in the house if the reading in your meter increased.

It's not hard to notice if the leak is big, but it can be difficult if the leak is small and nonstop. You'll be able to know only if the floors are starting to come off or if it is starting to have a mold and mildew smell.

Pipes beneath the sink, tubs, dishwashers and washing machines can be checked once in a while to know if there is rust settling in and cracks. This is just a few guidelines in maintaining good plumbing. Sometimes a clogged pipe will cause a leak, so keep drains clear of hair and debris, don't flush trash down the toilet, and don't put grease or food down the kitchen drain. Constant check up on your plumbing system is a good way to start. Have your pipes, faucets, drains, appliances that utilize water hoses checked out. You may even install a water alarm, water valves and washers with automatic lock-in and flood check hoses.

Destruction to environment and property associated with water have cost millions of dollars in a year. Water leakage and damage is the most common claim filed with insurance companies, and an estimated 2,000,000 homes experience damage due to common plumbing problems. Don't let your home be one of these statistics.

How to avoid water leak at your home? At www.safehomeproducts.com you can select a range of automatic water shut off system.