Five Causes Of Leaky Pipes And Water Damage Cleanup

One of the most prominent causes of water damage for homeowners is leaky pipes. The problem with leaky pipes is that even a small crack or rupture can lead to large amounts of water flooding into the home. This is especially true when there is high water pressure in the pipes. The higher the water pressure is, the more quickly the water will flood into your home. To prevent this from occurring, it is important to know the various causes of leaky pipes. So, from our water damage cleanup experts at Yellow Van in Aurora, below are five common causes of leaky pipes. 

Water Damage Cleanup In Aurora

Shifts In The Foundation

Once it is set, your foundation doesn’t have much wiggle room. Even small shifts in your foundation as your home settles over time can lead to major damage. This happens when the settling of your foundation causes your water lines to disconnect or rupture. Depending on the water line, this can lead to significant amounts of damage taking place.  

Corrosion

Depending on the age of the pipes, this is a problem for some and not for others. Many older pipes were built with copper or galvanized steel. Each of these metals are susceptible to rust causing your pipes to rupture or leak over time. 

Tree Roots

Tree roots are another common course of broken pipes. Fortunately, good planning can prevent this from ever occurring. Thus, if you are building a new home, you should make sure that you aren’t planting any trees over water lines. When buying a home, you should also make sure that none of the trees already in the yard are planted over water lines. If a tree is planted above a pipe, it’s only a matter of time until the tree root grows into the pipe and causes it to rupture. 

Temperature Changes

Extreme changes in temperature can quickly damage your pipes. In frozen pipes, for example, the water expands putting extra pressure on your pipes. This is why experts recommend setting your faucet to a drip to keep water moving throughout your pipes and prevent them from freezing. 

High Water Pressure

High water pressure leads to damaging wear and tear on your pipes. Water zipping through your pipes at high speeds increases the risk of your pipes bursting. The sudden changes to the direction of water flow can be too much for your pipes to bear, eventually resulting in leaks. The other problem with high water pressure is that the flooding is much more serious if a pipe does rupture. Rather than just leak a small amount of water, the broken pipe can spew massive amounts of water into your home. 

No matter the cause of a leaky pipe in your home, we at Yellow Van in Aurora are here to help you pick up the pieces and get you through the water damage cleanup  process. Before long, we’ll make sure your home and life get back to normal as soon as possible.