Check the eight things that fail: washing machine hoses, water heaters, supply lines under sinks and toilets, the air conditioning condensate line, the sump pump, gutters and downspouts, roof flashing where anything passes through the roof, and the grading around the foundation. Two of those are seasonal and the rest take an hour twice a year.
No list prevents everything. What a list does is move the discovery earlier, and the difference is large: a loss caught at the source is a mop and a plumber, and the same loss found three weeks later is a drying job and a claim.
Inside the house
- Washing machine hoses. Rubber hoses harden and split at the fitting. Look for bulging, rust at the crimp and any damp on the wall behind, and turn the supply valves off when the house is empty for a stretch.
- The water heater. Check the base and the pan for rust and damp, and look at the age on the label. A heater that has begun to weep at the base is telling you what happens next.
- Supply lines and shut off valves under sinks and behind toilets. Feel the joints with a dry hand and look for a white crust or a green stain, which is a slow leak leaving its record.
- The dishwasher and refrigerator connections, which sit behind appliances that nobody moves. A flashlight and five minutes twice a year covers both.
- The air conditioning condensate line, which blocks and overflows into a ceiling or a closet, usually in the first hot week.
- The bathroom, where the failure is at a joint rather than in a pipe. Grout and sealant that have opened at the base of a shower let water behind the surface and into the framing.
Two habits do more than any single check on the list. Know where the main shut off valve is and be able to reach it without moving anything, and read the water meter once a season with every fixture off. A meter that moves with nothing running is a leak you have not found yet.
Outside the house
- Gutters, twice a year, and more often under trees. Water that cannot get to a downspout goes over the edge and down the wall.
- Downspouts, which need to discharge away from the foundation and not beside it. This is the cheapest fix on the whole list and one of the most effective.
- Grading, so the ground falls away from the house for the first several feet. Beds that have been topped up over the years often slope back toward the wall.
- Roof flashing at every penetration: vents, skylights and the joint where a chimney passes through the roof. Failed flashing is one of the most common roof leaks in any house, and it shows up inside as a ceiling stain feet away from the entry point.
- Window wells, which fill in heavy rain and push water at a basement window that was never meant to hold it.
The basement, which is where the money is in this service area
Along the Passaic River corridor in Passaic County, and in the border towns of Essex County and Bergen County, older basements carry real flood exposure in heavy rain. Three things matter before a wet season.
- Test the sump pump by lifting the float, and find out whether it has a battery backup. A pump that works only while the power is on is a pump that fails in the storm that needed it.
- Get anything you would grieve for off the floor and onto shelving, and keep it there.
- Photograph the finished basement while it is dry, with the contents visible. A before photograph taken on an ordinary Tuesday is the most useful document in a claim file.
The winter list
Pipes freeze where a supply line runs through an unheated space or against an exterior wall, and the split usually shows up on the thaw, not during the cold. Before a hard freeze, insulate the exposed runs, disconnect the hoses and drain the outdoor spigots, keep the heat on in rooms nobody uses, and open the cabinet doors under sinks on exterior walls so the room air can reach the pipe.
If you leave the house for a stretch in winter, either keep the heat at a sensible minimum or have the system drained. A house left cold with water in it is the classic January loss.
What to do if you find something
Small and dry means fix it and watch it. Wet means the clock started when the material got wet, not when you found it. The EPA advises drying water damaged areas and items within 24 to 48 hours to prevent mold growth, so a wet cabinet base or a damp stud bay is a same week problem rather than a weekend project.
Photograph it before anything moves, note the date, and if the material is wet and not merely stained, get a moisture reading. Under S500 the drying process is documented with readings at each monitoring point on each day the project runs, and the same discipline is what tells a homeowner whether a small find is finished or still going.
The two minute version
- Know where the main shut off is.
- Read the meter with everything off, once a season.
- Clear the gutters and point the downspouts away from the house.
- Test the sump pump before the wet season.
- Keep a hygrometer in the basement.
- Photograph the dry basement while it is dry.
If a check finds water already down, the emergency method is on Water Damage Restoration and The first 24 hours after a burst pipe covers the first day. A person answers at any hour by appointment and the estimate is free and in writing.
This article is about Water Damage Restoration.