Water is the most powerful force on earth. Water is the key to life. Water can carve out the Grand Canyon or destroy a city like New Orleans. And if you own a home, water can be your home’s worst enemy. Especially if you are trying to sell your own house. Nothing will scare off a potential buyer faster than seeing water problems or mold.
The main thing you need to know about water in regards to maintaining your house, is that it always finds the path of least resistance to run downward, due to the force of gravity. Even a pin hole in a roof or pipe will cause water to run down that spot and start causing damage. The smallest opening left unattended can cause a lot of damage.
The next obvious concept is that water issues never fix themselves. The instant you seed a drop of water anywhere it doesn’t belong is the moment you start looking for the cause and fixing it or hiring someone to take care of it for you. Ignoring a water problem is like ignoring a tooth cavity. It never goes away and only gets worse with time. And it will cost a lot more money and cause a lot more pain the longer you wait.
As a real estate investor, I’ve seen perfectly decent houses ruined by the owner not taking care of water problems. A few houses I purchased and rehabbed were destroyed by water. In one house, the bathtub had crashed down from the top floor and was sitting in the kitchen when I bought it, because the owner didn’t fix a plumbing issue in the bathroom. I purchased a house where a gutter had half fallen down and now acted like a trough that led right into a poorly sealed bedroom window. This eventually brought down the bedroom floor, the dining room ceiling, ruined the hardwood floor in the dining room and left the basement with standing water which ruined the finished portion of the basement. All this damage was caused just because the owner didn’t have a gutter reattached!
Besides taking care of any visible problems immediately, here are some tips to keep your home safe from water damage.
Make sure all your gutters are clean from leaves and debris and all your drain spouts are flowing properly. If you live surrounded by trees, clean your gutters twice a year, spring and fall.
Put a wire mesh filter over the drain from your washing machine. These look like a metal sock and are inexpensive. You can find them at discount or hardware stores. You won’t believe the lint, pet hair, and bits that are collected. This keeps all this stuff from clogging up your laundry room sink.
If you have a garbage disposal, use it only for the small stuff. I’m embarrassed to admit I once clogged mine cramming too many potato skins down it. Always run it thoroughly with cold water before you run your dishwasher. A plumber who specializes in snaking out drains told me to pour a box of baking soda down the kitchen sink every three months and run it thoroughly with cold water. If you put baking soda in your fridge to keep it fresh, pour the contents of the old box down the sink.
Get some natural enzymes that eat the junk in your pipes and use it as directed in all your drains – sinks, tubs, showers, and toilets. Don’t use caustic chemicals for this, that will only hurry the demise of your pipes.
It you take these preventative steps and are vigilant about looking for water issues and taking care of them early, you should be able to prevent any water disasters in your own home. This is always critical but even more so when you are selling your house.
