Water Damage in the Desert?

Whenever we tell individuals from out of town what we do, the reaction is always one of suspicion, and goes something like this: “Really?? You do water damage remediation? However, you reside in Las Vegas. There’s no water in the desert. What water damage do you need to restore?” Well, indeed, we do not have any rivers going through town, no typhoons or tsunamis are most likely here, and the water level in Lake Mead has been dropping pretty gradually, so no threat of that overflowing, however, there are several other sources from which water damage can take place.

First, let’s deal with the staying natural sources. We’ve ruled out rivers, freak storms, big waves, and overruling lakes, but believe it or not, we do sometimes get rain – even in the desert. When we get rain, it boils down hard and fast, disposing a lot of water all at once, and then proceeding. The problem in Las Vegas is, we aren’t equipped to accept it. In the desert, even the ground is dry and hard, so rain is not quickly absorbed, and can run off, and pool in inconvenient locations. Likewise, we do not have numerous storm drains (at least not in Las Vegas); obviously, the city planners didn’t feel it was required to consist of these in the infrastructure since we get so little rain. The effect of these missing storm drains pipes, however, is that the water has no place to go, and our streets flood – like automobiles floating around the streets like rowboats type of flood. This is especially true in those parts of the Las Vegas Valley that are lower than others – in flood zones. These floodwaters can in some cases get high adequate to enter houses and do some major damage, but as I said, we most often see this occurring in flood zones.

Now that we’ve covered the naturally-occurring losses, let’s take a look at the manufactured ranges. Like many of you reading this, most of us desert-dwellers likewise have indoor plumbing! It is from these plumbed sources that we see most of our work. When you run all that water through the walls, ceilings, and floorings of your house, there are a few things that can fail.

The most common reason for a water damage insurance claim within the home that we see is the washing device water supply line stopping working. Depending on pipe size and water pressure, water streams through these lines at a rate of around 10-20 gallons per minute. If you include a load of towels and delegate run some errands for 2-3 hours, you can come home to somewhere in between 1,200-3,600 gallons of undesirable water in your home. One gallon of water weighs 8.35 pounds, so that would be in between 10,000-30,000 lbs of water. I do not know about you, however, I would rather come home to tidy towels than a drenched house. So, what can you do to prevent this? Well, because of our dry climate, those flimsy plastic/rubber tubes that come consisted of with most washing devices tend to dry out and ultimately fracture at the weakest points, so we changed ours with steel-braided connecting lines; they are strong, and won’t break under our dry conditions (likewise, their fitting can’t slip off like the rubber pipes can). If you want to be careful, you can turn off the water valves to the back of the cleaning machine when you will be away (especially for a prolonged time).

Next, we see water heater failures, other pipes supply line breaks (sinks, toilets, fridges), overflows, drain line leakages, and obviously, the dreaded sewage backups. Some minor preventive upkeep will help to prevent a number of these. Initially, attempt not to stack or keep a lot of things in front of a pipes component; if the view of your water heater is obscured by a pile of boxes, you will not understand if there is a little leak – until you have a big mold problem (yes, we have mold here too, however that is a various article). Next, regularly inspect fittings and connections for corrosion or moisture; these should be tidy and dry. Likewise, those steel-braided supply lines are available for other water sources too, like your toilets; these are always advised over those plastic ones. Ensure you understand where your water shut-off valves are in case of an emergency. To avoid overflows and backups – do not flush anything that should not go down the toilet, and try not to leave when you have the water running – you can get distracted and forget.

If you are home when a water loss happens, there is a lot you can do to lessen damage – switch off the water source, remove as much of the standing water as possible, develop airflow, and call an excellent mitigation company. The larger issues emerge when the loss takes place when you are away – at work, or even worse, out of town for a prolonged period. The longer the water runs unattended, the bigger the affected location, and the more extreme the damage. Also, within a matter of days, the affected areas will begin to grow mold if left unattended.

This is why it is imperative to get a qualified water damage restoration company on the website as soon as possible. We can extract the excess water, remove any unsolvable products, and recognize any vapor barriers that could slow or prevent the dry out of the structure; a handled drying system of devices can be set up, and we can keep an eye on the wetness contents of the afflicted products compared with the dry standard. If this is done rapidly, mold growth can be prevented, and your house can go back to its pleased, dry state.