By Brad and Sue Ayers, owners of Delta Restoration Services Greater Brazos Valley
We recently received a call from a frazzled client who was panicked about a flood in her home. This client had an issue — she wasn’t even at home to deal with it. In fact, she was calling us from the Charlotte airport.
The client had just left for vacation and her friend had stopped by that afternoon to check on her pet. Her friend, who might’ve been expecting a cute kitten or puppy to greet her at the door, was met with something much more alarming: the kitchen and living room were flooded.
Right before our client headed out the door, bags in hand, for a relaxing vacation, she started her dishwasher. Unfortunately, the dishwasher’s water supply line had disconnected and caused major flooding of her home. The dry-out process alone on the job cost thousands of dollars. Talk about a trip killer.
Vacations are meant to be enjoyed, and sadly, our business receives these frenzied calls all too often. With decades of home restoration and water damage experience under our belt, we have some tips we’ve learned over the years on how you can minimize the likelihood of any home disasters taking place while enjoying your precious and well-deserved paid time off.
Do a walk around the outside of your property. There are many things to inspect on the outside of your home that could cause damage while you’re away. For instance, check the roof for any shingles that may be missing or askew. You don’t want a leak starting if there are heavy rains at home while you’re enjoying a sunny beach thousands of miles away. Also, check your deck or patio areas and secure any items that could get blown around in heavy winds. Loose items that get picked up by the wind could break windows and cause serious exterior damage to the home.
Minimize flooding risks by shutting off the water supply. To greatly reduce the chance of any floods or leaks while you’re away, turn off the water supply to sinks, toilets, the dishwasher, and your laundry machine. Also, remember to set your water heater to the “vacation” setting. Finally, check the user manual for dishwashers, laundry machines, and other appliances that use water for instructions on how to drain them, so there’s no water sitting in your pricey appliances while you’re on vacay. These precautions are easy to take, won’t take too much of your time, and could save you thousands in restoration costs.
Unplug before you go. While unplugging can be hard in today’s technology-obsessed world, the old-fashioned kind of unplugging is easy. See, we’re not talking about iPhones, work email, and Facebook — we’re talking about appliances in your home. Before you leave for vacation, check to make sure toasters, microwaves, coffee makers, alarm clocks, and even chargers for electronics like smartphones and laptops are unplugged. Leaving these items plugged in while you’re vacationing can cause fires if there are faulty electrical outlets or if your appliances are older.
Do a walkthrough of your home to make sure all windows and exterior doors are firmly sealed and locked. The purpose of this precaution is two-fold. First, locking your windows and doors keeps out any unwelcome guests. Second, in the event of extreme rain or wind, making sure your windows and doors are properly sealed prevents water from entering the home and causing expensive water and mold damage.
Finally, rely on a trusted neighbor. Early detection is key to mitigating the damage of a home disaster. The earlier you catch a leak, for instance, the less likely you’ll be to experience a flood. While you’re away, have a trusted neighbor, friend, or family member stop by your home once a day to check on the property. This check-in will go a long way in the event that anything goes wrong while you’re out of town.
Now that we’ve covered some tips and tricks to avoid home disasters, you should be prepared to enjoy your vacation worry-free. So, remember to run the dishwasher the night before and happy traveling!
