If a pipe bursts or just leaks slowly over time, it can cause extensive damage to perhaps one of your largest investments – your home. The longer a leak goes undetected, the greater the risk of major damage. This is compounded if it occurs while the occupants are out of the house for an extended period due to travel or vacations.
The result is often water spots on ceilings or warped and discolored hardwood floors. Backed up drains and sewage contamination to surrounding areas or even flooding can very quickly damage large parts of a building and its contents. Some more subtle or unnoticed damage like mold and wood rot may also occur if the leak is out of sight or in a concealed location.
A leak may result from many different events. We often see pipes burst because of freezing conditions. This is perhaps most common on exterior water hydrants especially if someone forgets to remove the garden hose for the winter. It can also happen when pipes are exposed to air infiltration from outside walls or attic spaces.
Other leaks may happen due to deteriorating piping materials, faucets and fixtures that need maintenance or failed water heaters.
Clogged drain lines can back up and create a big mess! Equipment that requires a drain, like HVAC units and ice machines, can overflow a blocked trap. Root intrusion and a combination of too much waste with too little water are the most common causes of sewage backups. Smaller drains are often affected by hair and soap residue.
Rainwater can also create leaks through roof systems and foundation walls and a failed sump pump may exacerbate these types of problems. Grabill Plumbing Heating & Cooling offers a variety of pump solutions like backup systems, alarms, diagnostic alternators, and monitoring devices to ensure the effective removal of storm water from your home.
Call us today and we will help you determine what will work best for each application.
Grabill Plumbing Heating & Cooling offers automatic shut off devices to monitor, detect, and notify you anytime there is a potential problem, even if you are away. This can be routed through an app on your phone and/or through a third party such as the provider of your home security.
These systems can detect different types of leaks by monitoring water flow, pressure drop, temperature and humidity levels as well as using wireless leak sensors located in strategic areas. The perimeters can be adjusted for the desired response according to the situation, by programing for your usage on the app.
In most catastrophic flow events, these systems shut off the water immediately and send a notification. With the app, you have the option to override the device and turn the water back on if, for instance, this occurred because your swimming pool was being filled. You can also put the system in bypass mode prior to these types of activities to avoid false alarms. If you are away, someone may need to check the house to determine the cause of an alarm, but you can have the peace of mind that water is not continuing to do damage in the meantime. These systems also shut off the water due to low flow over an extended period which could simply be the result of a toilet running constantly or an appliance solenoid that is failing to shut off all the way.
The best aspect of these products is that you are made aware and have time to address the issues before you are the victim of a loss due to water damage. Your insurance company may also appreciate and/or provide discounts for this type of protection.
