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Water Damage Restoration : When Good Appliances Go Bad
Quick! Name the main sources of water in your basement at this very moment. For most people, those would be the plumbing, hot water heater and the washing machine. Now, when was the last time that you inspected those items for leaking or other signs of impending trouble? What do you mean you have never checked them? Well, then you are probably due for a flooded basement. Wait. Is that water I hear? Perhaps you should go and check on that right now.
Flooded, huh? Well, now the first thing we are going to do is figure out how to take care of all of the water in your basement, and then we are going to learn a little about some concepts called "preventative maintenance" and "water damage restoration." First things first, we have to restore order to your flooded basement. If you have one available to you, start your sump pump and get rid of the majority of the water for you. Do not go into the water, especially if there is enough to submerge electrical outlets and other appliances. After most of the water is gone and you have shut the electricity off for the basement, you can go to the next phase of water damage restoration and get rid of the rest of the water. The material of your basement's floor will define how dry you can get it and how dry you should get it. For instance, if your flooring is cement, it will dry fairly well on its own without an issue of warping or staining like other materials might.
After you have dried the floor of your flooded basement as much as you need to (again, depending on the material involved), you will be able to find the source of the water and repair it. Start looking at the most obvious spots first: the plumbing. Visually inspect your pipes, looking carefully for cracks, breaks or worn and loosened fittings. If there is nothing that you can see, run a hand along the length and see if you feel anything wet. If the pipes check out okay, it is time to eliminate the home appliances.
If the water that you were cleaning up felt unusually warm, then you might be dealing with a leaking hot water tank. Even the smallest hot water tank can have a malfunction that can lead to a flooded basement and a major repair bill if you do not catch it fast enough. If a hot water tank leaks out all of its water, but continues to try to heat water (that is no longer there) it will burn the elements up.
If neither of those are the reasons for your flooded basement, you are probably looking at a leaking washing machine. The washer will spit out all of its water for several reasons: it had a badly unbalanced load and overflowed, it has a leaking hose or connection or the tub is cracked or broken. Of the possibilities, hope with all your fingers crossed that it is the leaking hose or bad connection and not either of the other causes of a flooded basement which are time consuming, work intensive and usually expensive to repair.
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