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Short of a fire, nothing causes more damage to the inside of a property than leaking water. It is estimated that water from failing or frozen pipes, hoses, plumbing fixtures and appliances cause 65% of damage to properties. Many property owners are not aware that water heaters are a leading cause of residential water damages. Fortunately, there are simple and inexpensive steps you can take to prevent most of this damage.
How do Water Heaters Fail?
A water heater holds and transfers water continuously — from installation to replacement or failure. Over time, deposits will accumulate on the bottom of the tank. These deposits corrode the tank liner and heater elements. Water quality, particularly water hardness, directly influences the amount of sediment deposited. Moving water also causes wear on the tank and piping. The hotter the water, the greater the fatigue on the parts it touches. The constant heating of cold water also subjects the unit to extreme temperature swings. Simply put, no household appliance works under tougher conditions.
In most cases, water heaters fail gradually, but not always. Some of the telltale signs of imminent failure include water accumulation beneath the heater, a hissing or whistling sound characteristic of a worn valve, and chronic hot water shortages during periods of normal demand. A prompt corrective action is required once the signs of failure appear.
When the corroded bottom of a tank fails without warning, the water already in the tank and the continuously fed cold-water supply create a deluge. If not stopped, this water will continue to flow. In these cases, it’s crucial to stop the flow of water by turning off the cold-water supply valve at the water heater or at the water main shut-off.
Water Heater Inspection and Replacement
A good first step toward minimizing the chance of a water heater failure is a regular inspection by residents. If residents detect any sign of failure, they need to contact a licensed and insured plumber promptly and have the heater replaced.When replacing water heaters, record the installation date on the body of the unit or on a tag attached to the feeder pipe.
Ways to Minimize Potential Water Damage
Property owners can take several steps to minimize the damage from a failed water heater before a loss occurs.
Installing a catch pan with a drain connected to a waste line, sump pump or other means of channeling water out of the building will help in the event of a small leak. The pan and drain should be large enough to keep water from rising and reaching any electrical or gas controls in the heater and should allow for access to controls mounted on the water heater.
A sensor can be installed that detect water beneath the heater, the valve automatically stops the flow of water to the heater. These devices can prevent damage from a slow leak and limit the damage from a tank failure to the contents of the tank. They retail for around $100 plus installation.
Water alarms are also available from several manufacturers. These devices will not prevent damage but may alert you to a leak or failure. The biggest con with these is you have to be home to hear it!
On-demand or instantaneous water heaters are becoming more popular. These devices eliminate the traditional storage tank and heat water directly when there is a call for hot water. Installation can be expensive, and there often is not enough capacity for large, simultaneous demands for hot water.
Bottom line, water is the most insidious and relentless of property destroyers, ruining more property than fire. Like most things, prevention is the best solution.
If disaster should strike 24Restore’s highly trained team is here for you. We pride ourselves on always being available for you, with fast response. You can reach someone from our office 24 hours a day by calling 763-753-8080. If you need immediate help, our 24-hour on-call emergency team will be there for you no matter the time of day.
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“24Restore came within an hour of our water damage to assess the problem and restore and reconstruct our kitchen and my office. Everyone from 24Restore was professional, kind and did an outstanding job of damage assessment and restoration.”
Your service was excellent. The young man was thorough and very dedicated to completing the job. He’s a good one. I would recommend your services to anyone who need them.
Your team has been absolutely amazing, professional, sympathetic and wonderful. They took my mess and made it manageable as I shed a few tears, which they also consoled with empathy. At a time when we have floods and tornados city wide you responded within hours. Thank, I am impressed and I have passed the word on to many.
Very good experience……everyone I dealt with through 24 Restore was very professional and very kind.
This note is a note of thanks and appreciation of the services provided…..we could even say our home looks better than before we incurred our water damage…Job well done!
I don’t often take the time to write a follow up complimentary letter. However I was very impressed with 24 Restore and felt they went above and beyond to surpass expectations with WOW service. Thank you for the great service and great job that your team did to get my house back in shape.
I have recommended them to many of my friends. They are the only service that I have ever used that always gets my stains out and that clean my carpets beautifully. I can’t say enough good thins about them
Thank you for all the work put in to get out home……It would have been an impossible task for us to have accomplished in such a short time. We appreciate all that you have done for us! We are so grateful!
Yes. I appreciated the ability to funnel all activities thru a one-stop shop proved to be very valuable in a disaster project such as ours demo, construction and finish as well as work directly with insurance company. The team has been professional and those on site have been respectful of our home and schedule.
Alex did a great job scheduling, coordinating, and keeping me informed. He made sure that everything was done in a timely manner. I always felt that my job was a priority. All the workmen did a great job and were very polite. I am pleased with the results. I would highly recommend your company!
From the time of initial contact to the time of job completion was 24 hrs. Very pleased with job outcome. Will definitely use you again. If ever in need.
Response time was awesome. We we’re bewildered by what was happening and what needed to be done. 24hr came in and took care of what needed to be done.
I thought 24 was very professional and timely work.
24Restore was very responsive and did a thorough job plus they cleaned up after themselves.
The job was exceptionally well done. You were recommended to me by Dennis Carlson, a freind and I would definatley refer 24restore to friends and family.
Very Professional!
Everyone was on top of everything and got back to me in a reasonable time. Clean up was done absolutely perfect at the end of each job.
The guys who worked here were great, polite, personable and hard workers. They did a great job! So thankful this is over!
Working with the employees at 24restore has been an easy process. They aimed to please.
Kudos to Shelli Abraham especially, she worked with the mortgage company and insurance company so I didn’t have to, I’m a caregiver for my husband with Dementia, she took the pressure off having to deal with them, thanks Shelli.
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