Protect Your Business from Water Damage with These Practical Tips

Protect Your Business from Water Damage

You’ve invested many resources to acquire business assets, whether big or small. It’d be catastrophic to have them damaged in one night or a few hours. One cause of such possibilities is water damage.

Water damage refers to losses due to water intruding into a space. The water could end up in your ceiling, floors, and walls, among other places. As a business owner, you ought to adopt practices to prevent the possibility of water damage. This article will give you tips.

Practice Regular Maintenance

Maintenance is an activity you must take up as a business. It helps you identify issues in their early stages and address them to prevent future issues. In this case, it’s important to maintain your business premises, especially on the elements that contribute to water damage.

According to Fergusons Plumbing Group, you must regularly inspect your pipes because they’re prone to leaks due to holes or damaged seams. Be on the lookout for any major or minor leaks and deal with them. Consider allocating a worker to this role or seek plumbing services. They’re experts and will inspect and maintain your plumbing systems from the point of know-how.

Water damage can also occur through your roof, where rainwater leaks to your ceiling and floors. Here, you want to inspect your roof for any holes or missing parts. Repair your roof and ensure it’s in good shape. With gutters, ensure they’re free of leaves and debris. It’d help to have a gutter guard to keep obstructions away.

Generally, it’d help to create a schedule of when to do the maintenance. Also, ensure that one of these times is when the rainy season is about to happen.

Ensure Proper Drainage

Poor drainage is one of the reasons you’ll have floods. It’s important that the land surrounding your business premises slopes away from your building. This way, in case of a heavy downpour, the rainwater will flow away from your building.

Suppose the land slopes towards your building. It’d help to install a French drain a few meters from your foundation.

In addition, you can raise the ground near your building’s foundation. Pile soil, sand, or any other material that can withstand strong winds around your building’s perimeter. In case of rain, the pile alters your ground’s slope, making the water flow away from your foundation. On the other hand, since your soil will absorb rainwater before logging, the French drain will drain the water away from your premises, preventing water damage.

Invest In A Water Detector

You can avoid water damage in most cases if you identify issues in their early stages. Suppose your pipes are leaking, or they suddenly burst. It might take time before you notice, especially if it happens in a deserted space in your office. You’ll most likely know of the issue when it’s too late.

Therefore, it’d help to invest in a water detection system, preferably one with an alarm. Should there be any changes in water flow, it’ll shut off the main water valve. It’ll prompt you to check what the issue is, preventing water damage. On the other hand, if it senses water presence in your space, it’ll set off the alarm, alerting you of the issue.

Consider placing the detectors in areas prone to moisture, like the bathroom and kitchen.

Water Damage

Train Your Workers

It’s often said that workers are the number one solution providers to any issues in your business. With proper empowerment and information, they can prevent catastrophes like water damage. You can empower them by training them on your plumbing systems.

Inform them of your plumbing’s layout plan, and show them the major parts that affect water flow. One of the major parts to show them is the shut-off valve. If any of them see any pipe leaks, they can shut it off to cut off the water supply.

Besides teaching them the theory aspect of your system, please take a tour with them and let them visibly see the system and all the crucial parts.

In addition, it’d help to develop policies and procedures to guide their actions if they witness a possible water damage source. The policies should include whom to inform and the dos and don’ts to prevent damaging your plumbing system or worsening the situation.

Conclusion

Preventing water damage is possible with the right practices. The discussion above has given tips to adopt as a business to protect it from water damage. It’s in your best interest that you implement them in your operations. You don’t want to spend thousands replacing and repairing damaged assets.

As a take-home, consider taking a business insurance cover, preferably one dealing with water damage. The cover will put you in a better place financially should you experience water damage.