Why Water Damage Prevention is “Snow Joking Matter”
Residents of the Westchester area are all too familiar with heavy snow fall, and when it comes to preventing water damage to your home in the winter months, water damage prevention is “snow joking matter”. New York’s Tri State CBS team reports that heavy snow and water damage is “putting a serious strain on buildings and other structures around the region”, and roofers have become increasingly busy repairing roofs across the area.
In the event heavy snow causes your roof to collapse, be sure to call a water damage restoration specialist who responds quickly and offers a free inspection. As the snow melts it can cause severe damage to your home’s integrity and destroy your possessions. However, by phoning a water damage restoration company before you call the roofer, you can protect your home from incurring further costs in damage. A local roofer interviewed by CBS emphasized the fact that water damage is a major culprit in snow burdened roof collapses: “When the roof is filled up with snow like this and the gutters become frozen, water can’t come down the roof anymore. So it gets backed up. The water’s backing up into the rooms of the houses and causing problems.”
In the event Old Man Winter decides to collapse your roof, be sure to call an experienced water damage restoration company that can quickly restore your home back to its previous condition. But in the meantime, there are steps you can take to help safeguard your home or business from the icy talons of winter water damage wreaking havoc on your roof.
How to Prevent Water Damage from Snow and Ice Buildup
First, get rid of as much snow as possible. While everyone ploughs their driveways and walkways, not everyone is paying attention to the snow buildup on their roofs and in their gutters. Take a rake and remove as much snow from the roof as possible. This will reduce the amount of water that melts and runs off. If you have ice dams that have formed on the edge of your roof or in the gutters, melting water can backup and seep beneath your roof shingles causing rot and eventually pouring down inside the home. Although salt removes ice it can cause damage to your roof. Instead use calcium chloride to melt the ice dams, as it is a much gentler method for melting ice.
A Long Term Plan for Preventing Water Damage
A smart homeowner will have a plan to safeguard his home from cold weather and set it into action well before the first snowflake falls from the sky. Our experts are always educating customers on how to prevent water damage, and the first place to start is in the attic. Be sure you have the right insulation that will reduce heat loss through the roof. The right kind of insulation will help prevent snow from melting and the formation of ice dams.
Installing heated wires in the gutters where ice dams formed the previous winter will also help bulk up your line of defense against snowy water damage. Also, be sure you regularly rake snow from your roof after each snowfall to prevent a heavy buildup. Finally, in the event you have to replace your roof, be sure to have a thick “rubber like” shield attached to the plywood. This is an additional expense on a new roof but considering the fact that it will prevent water from leaking into your home, it is a good investment.
Your home is your castle, and you owe it to yourself to protect your family and what is likely the biggest financial investment of your life. By taking some steps to ward off winter water damage, you can rest comfortably around the fire with a cup of cocoa in hand knowing that your home has the strongest line of defense on the block!
