Your laundry room, basement, and roof are almost as likely to have water damage and leaks as your bathrooms and your kitchen are. So, what can you do about it?
Check your washing machine hoses often for moisture around the ends of the hose and signs of cracking or weak spots. The hose should be replaced as often as is necessary, but this shouldn’t be more than every three to five years.
The water heater in your home can pose problems, as well. If there are areas of rust on the tank or wet areas in the floor nearby, you might have a leak on your hands. Hot water heaters should be located in the lowest level of your home possible, preferably the basement, and always next to a floor drain. If it has to be installed on upper floors, it should be installed inside a large drain pan and the water directed to a drain in the floor. This way, if it begins leaking, it won’t damage your floors or any area of your home on the next floor down.
Your air conditioner collects condensation and each one should have a drain pan line to direct the water collected by your air conditioner.
Outside your home, any low spots around your house’s foundation should be filled in so that water drains away from the house and not toward it and end up seeping in through any flaws in the structure. Caulking around windows and doors should be inspected; if it is cracked or missing anywhere, it’s best to remove it and completely re-caulk it.
The area round your roof should be draining properly and if it’s not, water seeps into the wood and causes it to rot. A leaky roof can be a definite cause of water damage and is another thing that is not uncommon. Keep your gutters and downspouts free from leaves and other debris that can prevent the water from leaving the roof efficiently. Don’t walk on your roof unless you have to for repairs and it could be wise to invest in a roof preservative to help limit the amount of water your roof sponges up. Wood soaks up water pretty easily and if you want to prevent water damage to your home, it’s a good idea to get a sealant for wooden areas of your home that are exposed to the elements.
Showing posts with label real estate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label real estate. Show all posts
Friday, January 18, 2008
Water Damage and Your Homeowner’s Insurance
Not surprisingly, water damage is one of the most frequent causes of home insurance claims. Not many people like having to discover what is and what isn’t covered by their home insurance policy, but that’s often the way that it goes. A pipe bursts in the basement or an appliance such as a clothes washer or dishwasher begins to leak all over the floor while you’re gone on vacation and all of a sudden you find yourself wondering if you’re covered.
For example, if a pipe were to burst in the home due to a drop in temperature and you had left the home vacant and without the heat necessary to keep the pipes from bursting, you might not be covered. They could possibly deny you due to the fact that you did not take the necessary action that would have prevented the event.
If your bathtub overflows, you should be covered, even if it’s just because you were on the phone or tending to another matter in the house and simply forgot to turn off the water.
In most cases if a major household appliance such as a washer or a dishwasher suddenly malfunctions and water spews all over the floor and causes damage, you are covered by your homeowner’s insurance. You’ll have to pay for the cost of fixing the washing machine or dishwasher yourself, but any damage caused by the water itself should be paid for by your policy.
If the cause of the damage is heavy rain and the water leaks through the roof or floods into the basement and the house itself and items inside it are damaged, you should be covered for the cost of the water damage to the interior of your home. The damage to the belongings inside your home is probably not covered, however; if the roof leak was caused by a tree limb falling on the house, then the damage to your furniture, roof, and interior should be covered to a reasonable extent.
One of the major causes of water damage to homes, however, is usually not covered. This is a flood. Unless you have an insurance policy that specifically identifies a flood as a source of damage to the home, you aren’t covered. Flood insurance needs to be purchased from the federal government and your local community should be able to give you information as to whether or not they participate in the National Flood Insurance Program.
For example, if a pipe were to burst in the home due to a drop in temperature and you had left the home vacant and without the heat necessary to keep the pipes from bursting, you might not be covered. They could possibly deny you due to the fact that you did not take the necessary action that would have prevented the event.
If your bathtub overflows, you should be covered, even if it’s just because you were on the phone or tending to another matter in the house and simply forgot to turn off the water.
In most cases if a major household appliance such as a washer or a dishwasher suddenly malfunctions and water spews all over the floor and causes damage, you are covered by your homeowner’s insurance. You’ll have to pay for the cost of fixing the washing machine or dishwasher yourself, but any damage caused by the water itself should be paid for by your policy.
If the cause of the damage is heavy rain and the water leaks through the roof or floods into the basement and the house itself and items inside it are damaged, you should be covered for the cost of the water damage to the interior of your home. The damage to the belongings inside your home is probably not covered, however; if the roof leak was caused by a tree limb falling on the house, then the damage to your furniture, roof, and interior should be covered to a reasonable extent.
One of the major causes of water damage to homes, however, is usually not covered. This is a flood. Unless you have an insurance policy that specifically identifies a flood as a source of damage to the home, you aren’t covered. Flood insurance needs to be purchased from the federal government and your local community should be able to give you information as to whether or not they participate in the National Flood Insurance Program.
Drying Out Water Damaged Properties
As you can imagine, drying out a home or other building that’s been submerged in water, whether it’s flood water or rain water, can be quite a daunting task. Here we’ll discuss a few different ways to begin the process.
A flood can happen in almost an instant, but drying out a home or other property can take a long time. Depending on the property you’re trying to dry out, using hot air drying techniques may damage the building, especially if it’s a historical one.
Before beginning the drying process, be sure to address the electrical hazard. Make sure all power to your home is completely off. Just because the power is off for all your neighbors, don’t assume that yours is off, too. This could be a very fatal mistake. Not only should you be careful of electrical hazards, but biological ones, as well. Flood waters such as those caused by Hurricane Katrina can be contaminated with human and animal waste, all manner of chemicals, and even cadavers. Protect your eyes, mouth, hands, and wear a respirator. Wash your hands in disinfectant soap after a session of cleaning and again before you eat.
Take pictures of the damage with a camera or if possible, videotape them. This documentation will make it easier when you begin negotiating with your insurance adjuster on what compensation you will be eligible for.
Make any repairs necessary to keep water from re-entering the home. These repairs should only be temporary while you get the majority of the building dried.
Any effort to begin drying out a home is the attic. Any wet insulation should be removed as quickly as possible; it is no longer useful, but it is heavy and holds moisture for quite a long time and will continue to cause damage to wood, metal, and drywall. If anything in the attic is soaked with water, remove it. These waterlogged items are heavy and can cause the ceilings to crack. Fresh air circulating through your home is a good way to begin and if you have any fans, turn them on once you’re confident that you can’t become electrocuted simply by walking around.
Opening the windows throughout the house (as long as it isn’t raining) will help and at this time you should begin to wash down any wooden items in the home in order to remove mud, silt, and other debris.
A flood can happen in almost an instant, but drying out a home or other property can take a long time. Depending on the property you’re trying to dry out, using hot air drying techniques may damage the building, especially if it’s a historical one.
Before beginning the drying process, be sure to address the electrical hazard. Make sure all power to your home is completely off. Just because the power is off for all your neighbors, don’t assume that yours is off, too. This could be a very fatal mistake. Not only should you be careful of electrical hazards, but biological ones, as well. Flood waters such as those caused by Hurricane Katrina can be contaminated with human and animal waste, all manner of chemicals, and even cadavers. Protect your eyes, mouth, hands, and wear a respirator. Wash your hands in disinfectant soap after a session of cleaning and again before you eat.
Take pictures of the damage with a camera or if possible, videotape them. This documentation will make it easier when you begin negotiating with your insurance adjuster on what compensation you will be eligible for.
Make any repairs necessary to keep water from re-entering the home. These repairs should only be temporary while you get the majority of the building dried.
Any effort to begin drying out a home is the attic. Any wet insulation should be removed as quickly as possible; it is no longer useful, but it is heavy and holds moisture for quite a long time and will continue to cause damage to wood, metal, and drywall. If anything in the attic is soaked with water, remove it. These waterlogged items are heavy and can cause the ceilings to crack. Fresh air circulating through your home is a good way to begin and if you have any fans, turn them on once you’re confident that you can’t become electrocuted simply by walking around.
Opening the windows throughout the house (as long as it isn’t raining) will help and at this time you should begin to wash down any wooden items in the home in order to remove mud, silt, and other debris.
Mold Health Effects
Most people don’t realize just how dangerous mold can be if you live in a contaminated home or work in a contaminated building for prolonged periods of time. Elevated levels of mold can cause some health complications that most people aren’t aware of and of course, some home sellers (whose homes for sale are sometimes contaminated) are skeptical. They want proof, when there is quite a lot of evidence that proves that the mycotoxins produced by mold cause diseases in human beings.
The inhalation of a large amount of mold spores can cause significant health problems like allergy symptoms, asthma, colds, coughing incessantly, bleeding in the lungs (particularly in infants or pets), trouble breathing, and even cancer. Problems with the central nervous system of a person are also known to be a problem.
Problems with vision, chronic or excessive fatique, mood swings, hives, headaches, sinus problems, tremors, trouble speaking, vomiting, and vertigo have been known to occur. A recent study even shows that children who are exposed to molds and workers who are exposed to them in working environments are more likely to develop asthma.
A condition that affects the lungs like hypersensitivity pneumonitis is developed by inhaling the mold spores (or anything like dust or other fungus spores) for prolonged periods of time. If the air conditions that cause the condition are not improved significantly or the person is not removed from the situation, the lungs can become irreparably damaged and cannot function. This is one of many serious conditions that can be caused due to prolonged exposure to mold.
Basically, there are more health complications associated with mold than you can shake a stick at and most people don’t realize that there are this many problems associated with mold growing in their homes. They think that it’s not that big of a deal and can afford to put off getting it removed from their homes or that they can’t afford to relocate until it is removed, but the fact is that if you’re a healthy adult, you might be able to hold up for a short period of time in these conditions before it starts to take its toll on you, but your baby, elderly relative living with you, or your pet very well may not. It’s best not to take chances with your or your family’s health. Do whatever is necessary to get out of the mold contaminated home or apartment or have it removed as soon as possible.
The inhalation of a large amount of mold spores can cause significant health problems like allergy symptoms, asthma, colds, coughing incessantly, bleeding in the lungs (particularly in infants or pets), trouble breathing, and even cancer. Problems with the central nervous system of a person are also known to be a problem.
Problems with vision, chronic or excessive fatique, mood swings, hives, headaches, sinus problems, tremors, trouble speaking, vomiting, and vertigo have been known to occur. A recent study even shows that children who are exposed to molds and workers who are exposed to them in working environments are more likely to develop asthma.
A condition that affects the lungs like hypersensitivity pneumonitis is developed by inhaling the mold spores (or anything like dust or other fungus spores) for prolonged periods of time. If the air conditions that cause the condition are not improved significantly or the person is not removed from the situation, the lungs can become irreparably damaged and cannot function. This is one of many serious conditions that can be caused due to prolonged exposure to mold.
Basically, there are more health complications associated with mold than you can shake a stick at and most people don’t realize that there are this many problems associated with mold growing in their homes. They think that it’s not that big of a deal and can afford to put off getting it removed from their homes or that they can’t afford to relocate until it is removed, but the fact is that if you’re a healthy adult, you might be able to hold up for a short period of time in these conditions before it starts to take its toll on you, but your baby, elderly relative living with you, or your pet very well may not. It’s best not to take chances with your or your family’s health. Do whatever is necessary to get out of the mold contaminated home or apartment or have it removed as soon as possible.
Mold And Your New Home
Say that you’re having a new home built for you. Imagine your surprise when you discover after it’s done that it’s infested with mold! What a nightmare that would be! Most people don’t think about the possibility of mold actually being built into their homes when the contractor is in the process of building it. How can this happen?
Sometimes building materials that have mold on them are used in the house’s construction and the contractor and/or his supervisors don’t assess the quality of the materials before using them. The best thing you can do to prevent mold from being built into your new home are to inspect the building materials and test them yourself.
Sometimes the materials bought to build your home with are stored outside directly on the ground and in cases where it rains on them and the humidity is high, mold can and will begin to grow on these items, depending on how long they are left there. Both building materials and the entire home itself should be covered with plastic sheeting at the end of each day to make sure the part of the home that is already completed and the materials it is being built with are safe from rain. Until the walls and roof of the house are installed and are completely able to keep out rain and other kinds of precipitation, it should be covered each and every day of the construction.
The home sometimes isn’t tested for mold growth as it should and when it should be, which is during the home’s construction and after it is finished. Although some people choose to do mold testing during and after their new home’s construction on their own (as they should), it is the job of the contractor to make sure the integrity of the structure is not compromised by anything, including mold. You could sue the contractor if you discover the mold contamination after the home is already built, but who wants to build a home for thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars just to find out that you can’t live in it? Nobody I know of.
The modern materials that we use to build homes these days, including drywall and plywood, are things that mold love to eat. Most homes are built recently have some amount of these materials in them, though, and sometimes it can’t be helped unless you want a more expensive alternative.
Sometimes building materials that have mold on them are used in the house’s construction and the contractor and/or his supervisors don’t assess the quality of the materials before using them. The best thing you can do to prevent mold from being built into your new home are to inspect the building materials and test them yourself.
Sometimes the materials bought to build your home with are stored outside directly on the ground and in cases where it rains on them and the humidity is high, mold can and will begin to grow on these items, depending on how long they are left there. Both building materials and the entire home itself should be covered with plastic sheeting at the end of each day to make sure the part of the home that is already completed and the materials it is being built with are safe from rain. Until the walls and roof of the house are installed and are completely able to keep out rain and other kinds of precipitation, it should be covered each and every day of the construction.
The home sometimes isn’t tested for mold growth as it should and when it should be, which is during the home’s construction and after it is finished. Although some people choose to do mold testing during and after their new home’s construction on their own (as they should), it is the job of the contractor to make sure the integrity of the structure is not compromised by anything, including mold. You could sue the contractor if you discover the mold contamination after the home is already built, but who wants to build a home for thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars just to find out that you can’t live in it? Nobody I know of.
The modern materials that we use to build homes these days, including drywall and plywood, are things that mold love to eat. Most homes are built recently have some amount of these materials in them, though, and sometimes it can’t be helped unless you want a more expensive alternative.
Mold and Selling Real Estate
Selling a house contaminated with mold isn’t a pleasant thing to have to deal with. There are a few things that you can do, however, to make the selling of your mold-contaminated home as painless as possible.
Any real estate sales contract should have in it an environmental inspection clause that allows for a 2 week to a 3 week inspection period so the buyer can have a professional mold inspector view the property and test it for mold or any other kind of natural hazards that might occur in the home. If it’s obvious that mold exists in the home, the only testing you should need is to determine whether the mold is toxic or not. Even if the mold isn’t a hazard to your health, it could be a hazard to the home’s structural integrity. If you can have the mold removed from the home before you sell it, this is the best thing to do. Selling the home will be easier if the mold is already gone, although you can leave this up to the buyer if you want to sell the home for a little less.
The owner of a property being sold shouldn’t make any attempt to hide mold if the problem is known about. If the buyer of the home suspects that you were trying to hide the problem, they may back away from the house completely. After all, if you would deceive them about the mold, what else could you be deceiving them about?
You should have in writing what you have done to try and correct any problems with mold or other environmental hazards. Any past water or mold damage should be disclosed also in this writing and it should be added to the sales contract so the buyer of the home legally knows about it. In addition to this, the seller should include in the contract that the home is being sold as-is and that there is no kind of warranty on the property for any environmental reasons.
Lastly, you should ask for a clause that releases not only you, but the lender, and the real estate agent from any and all liability related to mold to the buyer. As long as the information that you have given in your report about the past water and mold damage to the home and what you have done to remove it is complete and accurate to the best of your knowledge, you should be on solid legal ground should any problems with the buyer arise later.
Any real estate sales contract should have in it an environmental inspection clause that allows for a 2 week to a 3 week inspection period so the buyer can have a professional mold inspector view the property and test it for mold or any other kind of natural hazards that might occur in the home. If it’s obvious that mold exists in the home, the only testing you should need is to determine whether the mold is toxic or not. Even if the mold isn’t a hazard to your health, it could be a hazard to the home’s structural integrity. If you can have the mold removed from the home before you sell it, this is the best thing to do. Selling the home will be easier if the mold is already gone, although you can leave this up to the buyer if you want to sell the home for a little less.
The owner of a property being sold shouldn’t make any attempt to hide mold if the problem is known about. If the buyer of the home suspects that you were trying to hide the problem, they may back away from the house completely. After all, if you would deceive them about the mold, what else could you be deceiving them about?
You should have in writing what you have done to try and correct any problems with mold or other environmental hazards. Any past water or mold damage should be disclosed also in this writing and it should be added to the sales contract so the buyer of the home legally knows about it. In addition to this, the seller should include in the contract that the home is being sold as-is and that there is no kind of warranty on the property for any environmental reasons.
Lastly, you should ask for a clause that releases not only you, but the lender, and the real estate agent from any and all liability related to mold to the buyer. As long as the information that you have given in your report about the past water and mold damage to the home and what you have done to remove it is complete and accurate to the best of your knowledge, you should be on solid legal ground should any problems with the buyer arise later.
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