A home is the biggest financial investment people make during their lifetimes. It makes sense and cents to protect it from all types of damage, including water damage. Water can get into a home a variety of different ways, knowing how it can seep in and what signs to look for will help you protect your home from water damage.

Pest Infestation

Many outdoor pests are attracted to areas that stay damp. Look for evidence of pest infestation around your home’s foundation and you may discover a water leak or poor soil drainage, either of which can cause water damage to your home.

Look for piles of sawdust where carpenter ants and bees ‘drill’ into the wood. Termites live in damp places and create visible tunnels for traveling. Woodpeckers may also alert you to potential damp spots along your home’s foundation: woodpeckers go after the pests that live in damp locations and the woodpeckers annoying pecking sounds makes pests and dampness easy to locate.

To protect your home from further damage, stop the water problem at the source: repair the leak or improve soil quality for better drainage. Remove all soil that touches wood and replace any damaged wood, caulking any gap the exists between the soil and the home’s foundation.

Foundation Plants

We all like to dress up our home’s exterior with some foundation plants. Those plants need water and often have an underground or aboveground irrigation system to keep them well-watered. The irrigation system also keeps the soil that butts up to the home’s foundation moist all the time. Combine the soil moisture with shade from the foundation plants and the stage is set for water damage to occur.

To prevent this type of water damage and still enjoy the beauty of foundation plants, build the planting bed up with soil and create a slope going away from the house before planting so water will run away from the foundation. Also, don’t overcrowd the plants so air can circulate.

Clean Gutters

Clogged gutters cause rain water to overflow the gutters and run down the side of the home. The excess water will cause wood siding and window sills to rot over time. The excess water will also remain around the foundation of your home and seep inside if it finds an opening.

Clean gutters at least once a year to keep the rain water flowing down and away from your home.