For many homes and businesses, flooding, while a major source of water damage, is not the only source. Flooding, while serious, is just the biggest and most obvious threat when it comes to water damage. Water can form in other ways in a property, and it’s not just through strictly external threats. It’s possible for the water supplied to a property to become a threat, albeit a slower one, and through weeks, months, or even years of not being detected, cause significant damage.

These five areas are some of the most common locations where water damage can occur on a property even with no flood conditions.

Under Sinks
This is one of the most common areas for leakage because sinks get the most water usage from any fixture or appliance in the home. A leak in a water or drain pipe for the sink area might not be noticed immediately if people don’t regularly inspect under the sink itself or if it occurs away from the sink and is somewhere further down.

Behind Washers
A washing machine uses a lot of water, but what many people don’t think about is that the water pipes connecting a washing machine to a property’s main water line is often a soft hose, similar to garden hoses, but not necessarily always as durable. The condition of this pipe can degrade, or it can even break due to water pressure, causing significant internal leaks.

Under Toilets
Toilets seem like large, solid water fixtures, and to an extent, that’s true. They must be able to accommodate the weight of different people of different masses sitting on them. However, while the solidity of the toilet is often good, the sealants used to hold it in place and the pipes used to carry water and drain it away aren’t always so robust.

The holes created in floors for toilets are large and accommodating, but this often means protecting them with additional reinforcements like wax sealant, which can fail over time. Movement of the toilet, such as from heavy usage, may break the seal or even crack the pipes feeding water to the toilet, leading to leaks in various areas.

Within HVAC Installations
Air conditioning is not always from a central vent system installed on the floor. Sometimes, a through-the-wall or “ductless” solution is used, but this may require water drainage and management systems to be installed in the walls. As with a central system, these individual units still condense heavily as a byproduct of cooling and need that water to go somewhere.

If a leak in the HVAC drainage occurs, it can affect a single or even multiple rooms.

Behind & Within Drywall
Drywall is easy to install and flexible enough to be painted over in any shade a property owner desires, making it a popular choice. However, drywall is also extremely susceptible to water damage. This can occur when there’s a burst or leakage in either water lines or drainage pipes that may run behind walls or ceilings using drywall.

Call Dry Patrol For Basement Water Damage Cleanup

If you have water damage in your basement, we can help. Contact us 24/7 for a prompt, professional response.