There are a number of reasons why you may be experiencing floods or water damage. Floods can be caused by the simple fact that your town or community is on sea level and it becomes inundated every time there is a major storm, or the flood can be caused by a number of different factors. Floods can cause water damage and loss of personal property. Not to mention, floods can be incredibly stressful and tragic, especially if you lose your home and prized possessions. Moreover, many people have no idea how to better protect their home from water damage. When it comes down to it, many of the methods for reducing floods and water damage are easy. Here are five steps for reducing flood and water damage to your home.
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Keep all your personal valuables above ground – preferably on the second floor of your home or in the attic. If you don’t have an attic or a second floor, you’ll want to keep these valuables in a drawer or shelf as high as possible on the lower floor of your home. When it comes down to it, if there is a flood, you don’t to keep these items in your garage, because they could become damaged.
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Make sure that you create a snow barrier. In the instance of a big snow storm, you want to make sure that you keep a barrier of about five feet between your home and the snow bank. This is especially important as the weather starts to warm up and the snow starts to melt. You could see flooding and significant water damage if you don’t take this very important step. If the snow is too thick, you could always enlist the help of a snow mobile driver who can use the power of machinery to drive the snow away from your home.
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Clear all the drains in and around your home. When it comes down to it, many homes experience worsening floods because the drainage system isn’t working as efficiently. If you want to avoid any big floods, make sure that the drains don’t have any big blockages. You can test your drains by pouring a little water down them. If you don’t hear the water draining, you probably need to hire a professional to unblock the drains.
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Make sure that you clear the spouts and rain gutters around your home’s perimeter. The rain spouts and gutters around your home can become clogged with leaves. The only problem with this is that every time it rains, it becomes blocked and pours into your home. This can cause flooding and extreme water damage. In order to avoid this, make sure that your rain gutters are always clear.
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Re-insulate your attic. Whether you have the wrong furnace size or if you have a leak in your ductwork, sometimes the heat in your home can become trapped in your attic. If there isn’t enough insulation to reflect the heat back through your home, the heat could escape through the attic and cause the snow or ice on your roof to melt and leak into your home. At the end of the day, re-insulation is easy and affordable.