There are a troublingly large number of things that can cause damage to your home. Some of them are natural, such as severe or extreme weather events.
Others are purely of the person-oriented variety, such as theft or vandalism.
Yet, one of the most awful types of damage out there is water damage. It’s also responsible for around 20 percent of home insurance claims.
There are also an unfortunately high number of things that can cause a house flood.
Keep reading for some of the most common causes of a flooded house.
Broken Pipes
Modern plumbing is an amazing thing that allows people to have clean and hot water on demand. Unfortunately, most of that plumbing lives inside your walls or under your floors.
Plumbing can also prove suprisingly fragile. For example, an earthquake can damage your pipes. Tree roots can also damage them.
One of the more common reasons for broken pipes is that the pipes freeze. The water inside the pipe expands and eventually ruptures the piping.
If this happens inside your walls or under your floors, it can take a while before you notice the problem. You just head into your basement one day and there is a flood of six inches of water waiting for you.
Sadly, there is no particular home maintenance or flood prevention procedure you can do there other than make sure you keep your home well-heated in the winter.
Clogged Drains
Clogged drains are another common reason for a house flood. In cases like this, you often get distracted after you turn on the water in a sink or bathtub.
You walk away to take care of something and, the next thing you know, there is water pouring out of the sink or tub.
Fortunately, there is some basic home maintenance you can do to deal with clogged drains. You can take a DIY approach and use plungers or chemical drain cleaners to try to clear the clog.
You can also call in a plumber if your DIY attempts fail.
Plumbers typically have powerful pipe snakes that can dislodge stubborn clogs and restore the drain to working order.
Malfunctioning Appliances
While you won’t find them in every home, you will find water-using appliances like dishwashers and clothes washers in many homes. When they’re in proper working order, they’re great!
Unfortunately, they also cycle a meaningful amount of water every time you use them. If they develop a serious leak, it can mean a lot of water running out of the bottom and across your floors.
Depending on the exact installation of your dishwasher, it could even mean that water leaks from under the dishwasher and drips down the floor below.
If you have a finished basement, you can find yourself dealing with water damage to ceilings, walls, and floor joists.
Performing the manufacturer’s recommended maintenance on your appliances is your best bet for avoiding this kind of flooding.
Snow and Ice
Granted, the southern part of the country doesn’t face a lot of snow and ice under normal circumstances. The weather doesn’t generally get cold enough or stay cold enough for snow and ice accumulation.
In the northern part of the country, though, there are areas that routinely see heavy snowfall.
If the weather stays cold, that can turn into a lot of accumulated snow and ice over the course of a few months.
Once the weather turns warm again, all that snow and ice melting in a hurry can mean water finding its way into your home through cracks in your roof or through damaged areas in your foundation.
Poor Drainage
There are a lot of different varieties of soil out there. Some kinds of soil offer good drainage and some kinds of soil offer poor drainage.
Clay-heavy soil, for example, offers particularly poor drainage.
In addition, homes should have graded lawns but not all of them do. A graded lawn is one that offers a gentle slope away from the home itself. Ideally, the water will run away from the home structure into a local sewer system or a ditch.
If a lawn lacks good grading or has soil with poor drainage quality, water can build up around the home and foundation.
That persistent water build-up can not only cause flooding but also cause the kind of foundation damage that makes flooding worse.
The good news is that you can get your lawn regraded to help redirect water away from your home. You can also add more drainage to help you avoid this kind of flooding and foundation damage.
Weather
While it’s not necessarily the most common source of house flooding, the weather is often the most destructive reason for house flooding.
Excessive rainfall can cause rivers, ponds, and lakes to overflow and cause flooding. Excessive rainfall can also overwhelm local sewer systems or outpace the drainage capacity of the soil.
Extreme weather events like hurricanes routinely cause massive flooding along coastlines. Homeowners have few options in regard to weather-related flooding.
Many homeowners don’t realize that insurance companies exclude weather-related flooding from their home insurance policies. They consider these natural disasters or acts of God.
This kind of exclusion is very common for homes in a higher-risk flood zone.
If your insurance company excludes weather-related flooding from their standard home insurance policy, you’ll need independent flood insurance to cover those damages.
If you don’t have flood coverage, you can get a flood insurance quote here
Managing the Causes of a House Flood
Many of the causes of a house flood are things about which you can do very little. You can’t prevent causes like melting snow or extreme weather.
For pipes, keeping your home heated is the best choice. For appliances, perform the recommended maintenance.
You can do something about clogged drains with DIY solutions or a plumber’s help. If you have poor drainage in your home, you can add drainage and get your lawn regraded.
If you don’t have flood insurance, you can get that for extra protection.
Looking for more home tips? Check out the posts in our Blog section.