Resources
How to find water damage early, and what to do the moment you do.
The moment you find water
- Shut off the water at the main if the source is plumbing and you can reach the valve.
- Cut power to the affected area before entering standing water.
- Photograph it before you touch anything, including the extent of any staining.
- Put something under an active drip and move contents clear.
- Do not pull up flooring or open walls before it has been documented.
- Write down when you found it and when you last know the area was dry.
Where north metro leaks hide
- Behind and underneath dishwashers, where the supply connection is invisible until the unit is pulled out.
- Washing machine hoses, particularly rubber ones more than five years old.
- Refrigerator ice maker lines running through a cabinet or floor.
- Water heater tanks and the fittings on top of them.
- Toilet supply lines and the wax seal at the base.
- The ceiling below a bathroom, which is where an upstairs leak usually announces itself.
Two prevention habits that are worth more than any product
The first is a ten-minute walk twice a year. Pull the washing machine out and look at the hoses. Open the cabinet under every sink and run a hand along the supply lines and the trap. Look at the floor in front of the dishwasher for any swelling or discolouration. Check the top of the water heater and the floor around its base. Almost every large appliance-related loss we hear about was visible as a small drip for weeks.
The second is replacing rubber washing machine hoses with braided stainless ones. Rubber hoses degrade, and a hose that fails while nobody is home puts water into a building at mains pressure continuously. It is the single cheapest thing on this list and it removes one of the largest residential water losses from the table.
Neither of these requires a professional or a subscription. They require somebody to actually look, twice a year, at six places.
General guidance for property owners, not legal or insurance advice. Whether a gradual leak is covered is a decision your carrier makes on your policy.
Water where it should not be?
Tell us what you found and where. A coordinator can review it and get a provider out to establish how far the water actually went.