How to Protect Your Home From Rain Damage

Heavy rain causes major damage to homes nationwide every year. How do you protect your home from rain damage?

Our resident Emergency Moving Expert, Joe Geary, offers up the following tips on preventing water from coming in, preparing for a rain emergency, protecting your belongings, and what to do in case of damages.

If you’ve ever had the experience of having water in your home then you know the stress and inconvenience it can cause. In fact, “inconvenience” is most likely an understatement. In most cases, heavy rain is the culprit when it comes to water invading your home and it can be relentless when it comes in.
One minute your basement is dry and you turn around and there is a huge puddle. Or worse, the water just keeps on creeping further into your home. And if it keeps on raining, you have little defense until the weather cooperates. Aside from a fire, water can be your home’s worst enemy.
Here are some commons ways water may enter your home:

• Cracks in your foundation or entryways
• Under your garage door
• Over saturated ground water pushes up into basement
• Over flowing gutters & downspouts
• Cracked or non-waterproofed chimney
• Clogged catch basins & sewer drains on the street
• Improper grading
• Defective window wells

Then there’s your roof. If you have an old roof or any type of roof damage, rain can enter your home that way as well. In some cases, roof water is near impossible to trace the source.

If water does enter your home, what do you need to do as a homeowner to protect everything you have? Here are a few tips.

• Place sand bags in the area that water comes in such as basement doorways or garage doors.
• Make sure any belongings such as furniture or other expensive items are off the floor and away from the perimeter of the home.
• If you have antiques or fine art, make sure they are out of that area because even the increased humidity will cause harm to those possessions.
• Shut off any electricity to the area that could flood. As we’re sure you know, water and electricity don’t mix so if you can access your main electrical box, shut off the breakers that control that part of your home before the rain comes in.

When the rain is over, it’s time to contact your insurance company. But be aware, not all water damage is covered under a homeowner’s policy so be prepared to hear what is and is not covered. But if you did your homework prior to that incident, you may be covered. Here’s what your next steps should be:

• If the contents of your home need to be removed to complete repairs, reach out to a reputable moving company – preferably one with emergency moving experience. Be sure to ask if they have restoration experience as well as secure storage facilities for your valued belongings. They should help ease the situation and get you back in your home with all your possessions as quickly and stress free as possible.
• When it comes time to have any damaged items such as furniture repaired, you’ll want to find experts in that area as well. Again, if you’re near Boston, a simple search of furniture repair companies near Boston will help you find the right company. Ask them what type of expertise they have and how long they expect the repairs to take.

Here at Humboldt Storage & Moving, our professional team has been helping homeowners and restoration companies during these times by moving, packing and storing household goods when time is of the essence. Our team is experienced, trained and ready to assist you when you need it the most. The pack out is stress-free and our team shows up and gets right to work.

Our internal team is just as experienced. These emergencies end up having many parties involved such as insurance companies, adjusters, contractors and many others. We have countless hours racked up dealing with all parties involved and know how to get things done, both on-site and the paperwork involved.

If you find yourself handling the aftermath of a rain emergency in your home, reach out to us so we can help you relax. and get moving.