The Invisible Causes of Water Damage

1. Unmonitored Appliances
Appliances such as washers, dryers, dishwashers, and other appliances using water should be checked every couple of years. Failing to properly monitor your appliances could cause a slow leak to form with out your notice, which could become a much bigger problem.

2. Fiberglass Insulation
Some homeowners choose to use fiberglass or other similar materials as "extra insulation" for their basement or another room. While in normal circumstances this would work, if your basement floods for instance, the fiberglass could actually trap moisture in your walls instead. Try opting for alternative insulation in areas more susceptible to flooding, like basements and attics.

3. Unruly Weather
A lot of rain, snow, or ice, can cause quite a problem if there are drafts or leaks in your home you are unaware of. Some times weather damage is not realized for weeks, or even months, because the damage may be hiding within the walls of your home. To prevent this, keep an eye on your roof and around your home during nasty weather to be sure no water is seeping through.

4. Clogged Gutters
While clogged gutters are not an immediate problem, with enough rain fall (or in the summer, a hot day could cause fire damage) they could be. Mass amounts of waters spilling over your gutters can cause serious damage to your roof if the water puddles over the shingles, or t the outside of your home if the water is splashing against the outside of your foundation. Be sure to clean them out at least twice a year to be safe.

5. New Landscaping
New landscaping is always a nice addition to the value and beauty of a home, but sometimes grade and weather are not fully taken in to account. If you have had landscaping done and realize during your first rain since that water is now flowing towards your home, you need to call those landscapers back. If new landscaping causes water to pool around your home, it can cause major structural damage if not adjusted.

6. Faulty Heating Unit or A/C
Old or faulty air conditioning and heating units are amongst the leading cause of water damage, and eventually mold. This is partially because the problem is rarely the unit it self, so it may still work correctly, leading a homeowner to not realize the problem immediately. However, broken drip pans and other malfunctions to your heating or cooling system will become a big problem quickly if not taken care of.