How You Can Avoid Water Damage While On Vacation

How to Protect Your Home from Flood

Damage While You’re onVacation

PuroClean Emergency

Recovery Services presents:

Ahhh, vacations!

For many of us vacations are a time for rest and relaxation.The time away from home and work celebrates life with friends and family.

But for some unlucky homeowners , getting back to reality after the holiday includes coming home to a home flooded with water from a broken supply line or over the ground flooding.

And, because the water has been allowed to dwell – sometimes for days or weeks – the first indication that there’s a problem is an awful smell greeting them at the front door when they return home.

So, here’s a list of 5 helpful tips so you can savor all that rest and relaxation you bring home with you from your vacation by avoiding costly water damage when you’re away:

1. Most Important: Always shut off the water at the main before you go

• The very best protection you can give your home before you leave is to shut off the main valve that controls all the water entering your home -before you leave.

• If you’re not sure where it is, look for your water meter. The main shutoff will be located nearby. (It’s a good idea for everyone in your home to know where the main water shutoff valve is so they can stop the water in case of an emergency so they can stop the water in case of an emergency.)

2. Practice Caution:

If you’ve never shut off the main water valve before, test it before you leave for vacation. To do this, turn on a faucet somewhere in the house and shut off the main water valve. All the water should stop. An old valve can break, so be gentle when you’re performing this test. If the valve is stuck, leave it alone. If it leaks or doesn’t shut off all the way, have a licensed plumber replace the valve. (You’ll need to call your water department to have the water to your house turned off at the curb while you have the repairs made.)

3. If you can’t, or don’t want to shut the water off at the main . . .

If you don’t want to shut off the main water supply because you have an automatic sprinkler system or a neighbor watering the plants while you’re gone, shut off the valves to the most common sources of water damage: dishwashers, icemakers and washing machines. That way if a hose cracks or leaks while you’re away, you prevent a nasty water damage surprise when you come home. Individual shutoff valves or “stops” are installed on the supply lines leading to most appliances aswell as to toilets and faucets.

Supply stops or “stop valves” usually have a small round or

oval handle that you turn clockwise to shut off the flow

of water.

shut off the electrical switch for the well before you leave so it won’t pump

any water while you’re gone.

4. If you have a well

5. And one more thing:

Clogged gutters can lead to thousands of dollars of indoor

water damage – get them cleared before you go

Did you know that a 1,000-sq.-ft. roof casts off about 620 gallons of water during a 1-inch rain storm? That’s about 103 gallons per downspout if you have six of them. And, you really don’t want all those 620 gallons of water in your basement to greet you when you return!

While nobody wants a bigger “to-do“ list before going on vacation, take a short inspection trip around the outside of your home.

A quick check to make sure the gutters are clean and the downspouts are draining

away from the foundation is key to prevent basement flooding.

This one step can save you thousandsof dollars later by preventing storm water damage while you’re away!

Channel water away from your basement with gutter extensions

But if the worst should happen

and you need help cleaning up water damage in a flooded home, PuroClean Emergency Recovery Services is here for you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Because we have meters to measure the moisture so we know when your home is dry!

We’ll get you clean, dry and sanitized fast so no mold will grow!

PuroClean Emergency Recovery Services

Find out more about our services at www.purocleanpers.us