Water Damage to Property

Causes

• The severity of water damage to a property is often directly linked to the cause of the damage. Water damages resulting from natural disasters, such as flooding, can cause major property damages that require significant repairs or complete loss of the property. Minor water damage to a property can be caused by a leaky roof, broken pipes, washing machine overflow, plumbing leaks and a cracked foundation.

Effects

• The effects of water damage on a property, such as to the walls, floors and roof of the home, can be affected by water buildup. Water in the walls can lead to mold buildup, rotten wooden floors and rusty steel fixtures. These are all common effects of water damage on a property. The effect of water damage from flooding is even more severe and can mar the whole building and lead to an entire loss of the property.

Hazard Categories

• The cause of the damage also determines the category of threat the water damage has on human health. Water damage that comes from clean water sources, such as washing machine, bathtub and sink overflows or broken pipelines falls under Category 1 water damage. Damages caused from sources that contain contaminated water with biological, chemical or physical contaminants referred to as gray water is Category 2 water damage. Category 3 water damage comes from water sources containing black water that contains harmful bacteria and fungi that can lead to sickness.

Restoration & Repairs

• The property restoration and repair process after water damage occurs depends on the extent of the damage to the property. The source of the water damage must first be identified, and the hazard category of water must be determined. If the structural damage is significant and the water is hazardous to human health, evacuate the building until it is repaired and all traces of hazardous water is removed. A certified damage restoration expert should be contacted to assess the damage. If the property is insured, the insurance company should be contacted to review the damage and apply the necessary benefits contained in the insurance policy to cover the costs for repairs. If the property is not insured for water damage, the owner will have to foot the bill, and, depending on the extent of the damage, this can be quite costly.