What looks like a small puddle of water could actually cause damage of over $10,000.
To follow on from our blog last Friday, water is more insidious than you might think. Within minutes of the water leaking or overflowing from some source or appliance in your home, it can get to places you hadn’t even imagined.
For instance, let’s look at kitchens. One would assume that, what with all of the water that runs through a kitchen, that they would be designed to be compatible with and resist water. Dishwashers, freezers, refrigerators with water dispensers—and let’s not forget the kitchen sink and the garbage disposal—all of these are potential hazards for your kitchen.
It’s not just about the water getting under your hardwood or tile floor, as we discussed last week.The kitchen is one of the most overlooked area in the house, and when it’s overlooked, it can become the most expensive place in the house to have water damage. One small garbage disposal leak can spread to all of your kitchen cabinets and start a mold factory. Within a few short weeks, you could be looking at an entire kitchen replacement.
If you think we’re being overly dramatic, please read on. Do you know what your kitchen cabinets are made of? I’m sure many of you would reply “wood”, and you’d be almost right. Most of the new building materials for homes, like baseboards and cabinet boxes, are all made of MDF, or medium-density fiberboard. This is also called “pressboard”, which means that they take sawdust or other wood fiber and press it into shape, keeping the particles together with a special glue.
If you think about it, the fact that your baseboard or kitchen cabinets are made of small bits of wood does not sound like a good idea. We know how wood can absorb water with ease, and particles of wood in pressboard just turn into a sponge. And that’s not the worst part: That glue that holds it together? It’s like candy to mold, and they love to feed on it.
When you thought you were saving money by having the cabinet boxes in pressboard or MDF, you could be creating a huge problem. When these pieces soak up the water and the mold sets in, the cabinets and baseboards cannot be fixed or cleaned, not even with our special equipment. Why not? Because it’s not a whole-wood product, and therefore it has to be replaced. What pushes the cost up, outside of replacing the pressboard components, is that the countertops and appliances all have to be removed and reinstalled.
By the way—all of you with laminate flooring? It uses the same glue as the pressboard. We see it all the time. That little leak you thought was nothing turns into damage that costs $10,000 or more to restore!
Remember, fixing a mold problem costs about three times as much as having water damage restoration. Now that the holidays are coming up, there’s more opportunity for these accidents to happen. If you have family in town, your appliances; kitchen sink and garbage disposal; bathroom toilets, baths and showers; and water heaters will all be getting more usage. Plus, you’ll be doing more cooking and entertaining, which also puts more strain on kitchens, utility rooms and bathrooms.
Don’t let an overlooked leak ruin your holiday season! Call Paul Davis Restoration Inland Empire for an estimate today. And keep our number handy for the times when your washer overflows or your garbage disposal leaks under the sink: (877) 732-8471. Or use our contact form online.