At Swift Restoration and Remodeling we love helping our clients when a water damage event occurs. However, we love helping our clients avoid water damage disasters even more. Don’t let a broken water line or leaking ceiling ruin your Layton home this winter season. Follow these water prevention/detection tips to prevent a wet and stressful mess.

Maintain the Outside of Your Home

• Disconnect outdoor hoses. Any water sitting inside your hoses can easily freeze back into the connecting water line and create a block of ice that can stop your water flow, or cause your water line to burst, causing some major water damage in the process.
• Know where your water shutoff valve is. If you are taking an extended vacation and leaving your home, make sure to turn off the water to your home.
• Keep up with your landscaping. Remove any debris from your home that can cause melting snow to puddle around the foundation of your home. As the snow melts, it can find its way into cracks and crevices in the foundation of your home. As the temperatures drop and that melted snow starts to freeze, it is going to expand, and cause additional damage to your foundation.
• Keep your gutter and downspouts clear of debris. Clogged gutters and downspouts increase the risk of ice dams forming in this cold winter weather. Ice dams, with their added weight, can cause your gutters to collapse or become damaged. Melting ice dams can cause damage to your roof and ultimately, allow water to infiltrate your attic or crawlspace.
• Check your water pressure. If your water pressure is set too high, water lines and hoses can fail under the pressure. You can find water pressure gauges at your local hardware store.
• Keep an eye on your water bill. Water damage can be hard to detect until its too late and the damage is significant. One way to catch a water leak early is to watch your water bill. If you see a spike in usage from one month to the next and don’t have an explanation, you may have a hidden water leak in your home, or if you have a sprinkler system you may have a broken water line.
• Check your appliances. Check your appliances for any leaks and damaged water lines. The last thing you want to experience is a kitchen full of water because your refrigerators defrost drain became clogged with debris.
• Speaking of appliances, replace old or brittle washing machine hoses every few years. Washing machines are in the top 3 when it comes to water damage disasters caused be appliances.
• Never, ever pour grease down your kitchen sink, even if you have a garbage disposal. It does not matter if you pour the grease down the drain with cold or scalding hot water. That grease is going to congeal and cling to your pipes, causing some serious damage and clogging.

If you suspect a water leak in your home contact your Layton water damage restoration professionals , like Swift Restoration & Remodeling , as soon as possible. If you choose to ignore the water damage or postpone necessary repair, you risk additional property damage, increase in restoration expenses, and potential mold growth.