Preventing Water Damage: The Practices and Tools Necessary to Protect Your Business

9/14/2018 (Permalink)

Be ready with a plan to protect not only your business' operations but also the employees.

A broken pipe can cause massive flooding in a business, and the cost of water repair can be significant; however, depending on who is deemed responsible, your insurance company may not cover the damage. Therefore, you may want to take every preventative measure possible to protect your business and its operation.

Key preventative measure to protect your business

Routine Maintenance

Most plumbing issues can be prevented with routine maintenance. With regular sewer cleaning and annual inspections of drains and other collection systems, most minor problems can be found and fixed for little costs.

Installation of Pumps and Valves

Beyond routine maintenance, you can install sump pumps and back flow valves to prevent and control potential sewer backup and flooding events. However, these items also should be inspected regularly to ensure proper functionality, and sump pumps should have battery backups in case of power outages.

Location of Generator Fuel Tanks

In the event of a broken pipe or a flood, generator fuel tanks may cause water contamination. For this reason, you may want to install generators in elevated areas to not only prevent possible water contamination but also to ensure a working generator. If generators are located in a building’s flood zones, the increasing water level may interfere with the generator’s mechanics.

Parking Lot and Sidewalk Grading

As exterior water lines can also burst, you may want to ensure that any concrete surface is graded away from your building’s interior. Incorrect grading can lead to increased flooding risk, which can result in further interior damage.

While Kansas City, Kansas, has many restoration companies in the event of a broken pipe, it is better for a business to avoid interruption due to disaster; therefore, it may be in your best interest, as the owner, to install every possible preventative measure. However, it is also essential to maintain these elements to ensure prolonged protection for your business.