Leaky and broken pipes are the number one cause of water damage in the home. Even a minor pipe leak along your home’s extensive plumbing system can ultimately do extensive damage. Sudden pipe bursts can quickly flood your entire Central Florida home, but a pipe leak can take its time revealing the harm it’s done. When either occurs, a professional water damage restoration and remediation company can help.
How a Single Pipe Leak Can Cause Huge Problems
When you have a flooding situation in your home, it’s essential to contact a water damage restoration company that offers 24/7 emergency services. The sooner you start water remediation actions like cleaning, drying, sanitizing, and repairing, the sooner the damage restoration can begin.
Every Central Florida homeowner knows household leaks happen surprisingly often. What many are surprised to learn is how often they go undetected. A pipe leak can happen for many reasons:
- One or more pipes might have been damaged during another home improvement project.
- Poor water quality can cause pipes to corrode.
- A pipe fitting may come loose.
In the end, though, the most common reasons for a pipe leak are age and normal wear-and-tear. Finding, fixing, and even preventing pipes leaks are all excellent ideas, but sometimes a tiny sign is overlooked, or the leak happens out of sight, such as behind a wall or under your home’s foundation. That’s when a single, simple pipe leak can wreak a whole lot of havoc.
The Damage a Pipe Leak Can Do
A pipe leak doesn’t just waste water, it can also damage your home’s structure and encourage unwanted organic growth, such as mold. Unfortunately, because much of the pipework in your Central Florida home is hidden, you might not always know that a leak has formed.
Here are the top causes of what could make a pipe leak.
Broken Seals
When appliances are installed, the person doing the installation puts seals around every water connector and point where water flows into the appliance. Seals are also put in place on things like a dishwasher door. As an appliance ages, its seals can break or wear out. The first signs this is happening are condensation on or puddles near the appliance. They tell you that water that should be flowing into or out of your appliance is leaking out instead.
Clogged Lines
Most times, a clogged drain is a simple inconvenience. Other times, they can lead to overflowing, leaky, or burst pipes. For instance, an obstruction in your air handler drain pans or gutters can result in severe water damage due to the added pressure inside the pipe. Over time, that pressure can wear down the sides of the pipe walls. Eventually, there’s a break, and a pipe leak occurs.
Corrosion
As plumbing systems age, rust and other types of corrosion can eat away at pipes. Warping and discoloration are usually the first signs a pipe is corroded. Since corrosion tends to happen from the inside out, the damage is typically not noticed until a pipe leak or worse occurs. Just like with clogs, a corroded pipe eventually can’t handle the pressure or force of water flowing through it. A pipe leak at the corroded section is the inevitable result.
Damaged Pipe Joints
The weakest points in a plumbing system are often where pipes connect with one another. Over time, these pipe joints can deteriorate and cause a pipe leak. Because most pipe joints are hidden without your plumbing network, a leak isn’t easily visible. If you notice your pipes have suddenly gotten noisy or they’re making a ticking or banging noise, especially when the hot water is turned on, there’s a good chance the pipe joints are under significant pressure.
Excessive Water Pressure
High water pressure certainly makes your water come out faster, but that excessive pressure can place a lot of strain on pipes. As most pipes and faucets are designed to withstand a specific level of water pressure, any extra pressure could cause a pipe leak.
Tree Root Intrusion
Not all pipe leaks happen inside the home. Tree roots that intrude on exterior pipelines can cause a leak which results in water seeping into your yard or under your Central Florida home’s foundation. You might notice wet patches even though you haven’t watered, sinkholes, or a sudden drop in water pressure.
Loose Water Connectors
Water connectors are often shaken loose. For instance, the washing machine hose may spring a leak due to the shaking that occurs during the spin cycle. Water connector leaks are easier to spot as you’ll likely notice water running out from the supply line or forming puddles around the appliance.
Rapid Temperature Changes
While Central Florida enjoys a moderate climate, it can be subject to short cold spells in the winter. Unexpected temperature changes can force pipes to expand and contract, and they can crack and leak.
If you notice a musty smell around a drain, an increase in your water bill, or a change in water flow in your Central Florida home, you might have a pipe leak somewhere in your plumbing network.
What Should You Do When You Find a Plumbing Leak?
Sometimes you’re lucky and a pipe leak is due to just a loose fitting. Many times, that’s a problem you can fix on your own. But if there’s a fracture, hairline crack, or more serious leaks, you’ll probably have to enlist the help of a professional who can find and fix a pipe leak anywhere inside your home’s plumbing system. They can even use the opportunity to look for signs of other leaks or future leak risks. That can save you a lot of time, frustration, and money.
If you own a home, it’s unlikely you can escape one or more pipe leaks. No matter how small, the best thing you can do when facing one in your Central Florida home is to address it right away. The longer you leave a pipe leak, the longer you risk it causing further damage.
Pipe Leak Damage, Remediation, and Restoration
A faucet or pipe leak is thought to be a “harmless” issue. But either one has the potential to do great damage, especially if the pipe leak isn’t discovered immediately. In a worst-case scenario, such as when the pipe leak is in a rarely visited area like a crawl space, you’ll only learn of the leak when you receive your water bill.
If the only cost you incurred from a pipe leak was a one-time higher water bill, that would actually be a good thing. Unfortunately, the remediation, restoration, and repair of water damage can be pretty expensive, particularly if the leak has gone undetected for a long time or a burst pipe has caused flooding that requires full structural drying and renovation to your entire home.
The first thing you should do when your home suffers water damage of any kind is close the water mains and the electricity, but only if it’s safe to do so. Then the water damage restoration process can begin.
You Save More When You Hire a Water Damage Restoration Company
When your home suffers water damage due to a pipe leak, it’s critical to call experts who know how to properly clean and restore the area. While it’s essential to call in a plumber to fix the immediate problem, they and you might not be able to identify all hidden water damage. And that can cost you a whole lot more in the longer run, possibly when your homeowner’s insurance won’t cover it.
Here’s what to do after your home becomes water damaged:
- Inspect your property, take photos, and call your insurance agent or carrier. Once the pipe leak has been fixed, it helps to document your property’s damage. Talking with your insurer helps you understand what’s covered in your policy to help you recover from the water damage. A water damage restoration company like Central Florida Restoration Services can help you deal with your insurance company.
- Plan for the water restoration process. Depending on the extent of the damage, your water damage restoration expert can work with you to plan out the best way to restore your home to its original condition.
- Extract the water. Water extraction machines are used to remove the water from your house and prevent further water damage to the property.
- Dry the affected areas and inspect for mold growth. Professional drying equipment is used to dry the affected areas which are then inspected for mold growth. Once dried, the area should also be sanitized and disinfected.
- Thorough cleaning and restoration. During this stage, building materials like drywall and flooring are restored.
Once the water restoration services are complete, the area should be reinspected to make sure everything has been dried properly, humidity levels have returned to normal, and you’re completely satisfied with the work performed.
A qualified and skilled water damage remediation and restoration company has the equipment, expertise, and skills needed to clean, repair, and restore your Central Florida home quickly and efficiently. That prevents more extensive damage from occurring, which can save you thousands of dollars in repairs and renovations. They can also potentially get you more from your insurance claim, as they can identify water damage issues you might miss.
Central Florida’s Most Trusted Flood Damage Restoration Company
Of course, we hope you never suffer the damage that can occur from a pipe leak. But if you do, we’re here to make the experience a less stressful one by taking care of the water damage from disaster to full restoration.
A catastrophic pipe leak might be new to you, but we’ve been there and seen it all. And we know and understand the feeling that comes with worrying about how much damage your home will suffer. Our timely response is key to a successful water damage restoration job, so we promise to start as soon as possible after the damage occurs and you call us in.
CFRS has over 20 years of experience dealing with water damage, including that caused by a leaky pipe. We’re the area’s premier water damage, mold damage, fire damage, and smoke damage company. You can rest assured knowing whatever your water problem, we’ve likely seen it before.
To learn more about all the water damage services we offer and how they can help you avoid future costly repairs, contact CFRS today. We provide the support you need to keep your Central Florida home and family safe from the disastrous effects water damage from a leaky pipe can cause. In addition to water damage solutions, we also provide mold damage, fire damage, and smoke damage services, as well as 24/7 emergency services.
