At APR Restoration, with several locations across North Carolina including Raleigh, New Bern, and Wilmington, we have seen much damage to people’s homes. One of the most common concerns that homeowners have is a fire in the home. Here in North Carolina, however, water damage is estimated to be 10 times more likely than fire damage. Some of these damages are out of anyone’s control, such as a natural catastrophe which accounts for approximately 28% of home and business water damage.
Top Causes of Water Damage
- One of the top causes of water damage to the home that is not weather related is leaking washing machine hoses. APR Restoration has handled many water damage restoration projects due to this kind of leak. If you are looking to prevent this or want to understand why it happened, there are a few possibilities. Your hose may be worn out. The average life expectancy of these hoses is about 5 years. After 5 years, if you notice the hose is showing signs of breakage or bursting, it is time to replace the hose. As an added tip, if you are using a rubber hose, these hoses don’t have the same longevity as the superior steel braided hose.
In addition to the hose itself losing its integrity, the washers or rubber seals in the hose used to keep it water-tight may have broken or gone bad. This will cause water to leak through the hose’s opening and can cause flooding in the home. Sometimes you may also need to take some more basic precautions, such as tightening the connection points of the hose. The vibrations from these machines can cause them to slowly loosen over time.
- Another common source of leaks that we at APR Restoration see is leaky plumbing around water heaters. When you notice leaking around your water heater, it is key to react immediately. This may seem minor, and may be at first, but can quickly turn into a much larger situation. Most water heaters have a 50-gallon tank of water that replenishes when the water levels go down. This means that you can experience large amounts of water damage quickly, some of which you may not be able to see as it leaks into your property’s flooring and walls.
- Though easy to forget about, there is a constant flow of water to the ice machine in your refrigerator, and these sometimes leak. This can be dangerous not just because of the water damage, but this is an appliance plugged into a high-output electric source so be careful to avoid coming in contact with puddles of water if you experience a leak from your ice maker. These leaks can be coming from inside or outside the machine so if you are unable to identify the source, be sure to contact an expert like APR Restoration right away.
Contact APR Restoration
When you notice your home or business has incurred water damage, the best thing to do is contact a professional like APR Restoration immediately. Servicing Raleigh, New Bern, Wilmington, and their surrounding areas, we are experts on water damage in North Carolina. Contact us as soon as you suspect or have experienced water damage on your property so we can help you through the process and minimize the damage!
