Preventing Water Damage To Your Furnace

12/5/2017 (Permalink)

Every winter, especially if you live in a cold climate, your home is under assault from the elements. Eventually, that constant assault can cause your home’s systems to fail. One common result of these failures is water damage. And while any type of water damage is bad, there are certain types of damage that can be worse than others. That’s especially true in the winter.

Perhaps no system in your home is more important in the winter than your furnace. Without it, you’d be in big trouble. So while the impact of home water damage is bad no matter how you look at it, having your furnace damaged when the temps are freezing outside can be catastrophic. So let’s talk about things you can do to protect your furnace from water damage should the worst case scenario happen to you this winter.

Elevate your furnace

Furnaces are hidden from view for a reason. They’re not exactly focal points of a home you want people’s eyes drawn towards. Whether it’s in a crawl space, basement or mechanical closet, it’s typically in a place you naturally don’t find yourself visiting very often. One way to help protect your furnace from water damage is to create an elevated platform upon which the furnace can sit. If it’s the case your furnace is found in an unfinished basement, you can simply pour a concrete block and install the furnace there. If it’s in a closet, it may make more sense to create a wooden box to hold the furnace. In either case, having the additional 18-24″ of height can typically protect against most types of home water damage.  Granted, in massive flood events this isn’t going to have much effect, but then again there isn’t much you can do from a preventative stand point when mother nature decides to take charge.

Install water sensors near your furnace

Another way to help prevent massive damage to your furnace is to install a water sensor near the unit. We’ve blogged about these systems before at length, but they work by sensing water intrusions and alerting you, either by a loud alarm sound or by notifying you via your cell phone. Some even work by shutting off the main water valve to your home so that in the event the water damage is caused by your home’s water supply, that supply will be shut off to prevent additional damage.

Call us if you get water damage this winter!

While we’ve tried to help you limit damage to your home’s furnace in the event a flood happens this winter, what we haven’t discussed is the damage that probably has occurred.  We sincerely hope that you won’t try the cleanup and drying process on your own. We’ve seen so many homeowners try this before, only to call us month’s later once it’s clear they’ve got major problems. Perhaps the biggest problem is that because they waited so long to have professional diagnose and fix the problems, the house has even more damage to it and their insurance company probably won’t honor any claim filed for the loss because it happened so long ago. Don’t let that happen to you! Make sure you act immediately in the event of a water loss!

Water Damage In Your Home Or Business? Contact SERVPRO of Oldham/Shelby County today at 502.241.6861

SERVPRO of Oldham/Shelby County also proudly serves Spencer, Trimble and Henry Counties as well.