4 Long-Term Effects Water Damage Can Have On Your Business
One of the biggest priorities of any business is to stay operational. After all, you can’t generate any revenue if your business is always experiencing downtimes. And, if the downtimes become too many, your business becomes unreliable. That means clients will seek alternatives elsewhere. That’s the kind of problem you expose your business to when you fail to deal with water damage.
Experts recommend dealing with this issue as early as possible. But do you know what’s better than fixing the issue early? Ensuring the damages do not appear in the first place, i.e., prevention. You have to set up mechanisms to prevent water damage from happening. That means you need to explore all the potential problem areas and fix them. Failure to do so can result in painful and expensive long-term effects.
Here are four of such effects:
- Economic Loss
- Property Damage
- Health Hazards
- Psychological Effects
Water damages can be super expensive to repair. Floods, for instance, could ruin your electronics, wiring, furniture, documents, and so on. Most of these items can end up being irreparable. And for the ones that you can repair, you’ll probably spend thousands of dollars to fix them.
That may not be a problem for big businesses with tons of revenue. However, smaller businesses can get overwhelmed by the bill. Such companies can end up spending years recovering from the financial hit.
Of course, you can avoid this issue by taking insurance coverage. But you'll need to shop around because insurance companies do not cover all types of water damages. Some insurers don't even provide flood policies.
Picture this; you’ve spent years building your business. Finally, you reach a point where you have your own premises. And then water damages start causing all sorts of problems. Molds build up. Bugs and other unwanted guests creep into the premises. Worse of all, structural issues develop.
All the investment you’ve made starts crumbling before your eyes. That’s how detrimental water damage can be. Even the seemingly minor storms and floods can compromise your property’s flooring and foundation. Roofing and ceiling can also be affected. That leads to leaks which cause even more losses inside the property.
Water damages can also cause severe health hazards. One of the biggest ones is contamination. Floods and similar issues can affect the integrity of your plumbing system. Drinking water can get contaminated, and the worst part is the issue may go unnoticed. That’s especially the case if you don’t invest in the right professionals to fix your systems after water damage.
This can end up affecting the reputation of your brand. It may also leave you exposed to various legal issues.
Sewers and water contamination aside, water damages can also lead to mold growth. This may seem like a minor problem, but it usually escalates to bigger issues.
As the mold grows, it will soon become an eyesore for your employees and customers. That's not all. Continued exposure to mold leads to allergic reactions and other illnesses. These include bronchial asthma, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, hives, allergic conjunctivitis, allergic fungal sinusitis, etc.
These illnesses are bad for you and your employees. They will also have a major impact on productivity.
Floods can have long-term psychological effects on the victims. Although this is common when floods affect homes, businesses too can be affected. That’s especially true when the damages happen during working hours.
The damages can traumatize your employees, forcing you to invest in therapy.
How To Minimize The Effects of Water Damage
There are various ways of minimizing the impact of water damage on your property. One, call the experts as soon as the damages happen. They'll initiate the process of removing water right away and this helps to rescue your assets before they are too damaged to be repaired.
If the damage is coming from burst or leaking pipes, shut off the water from the mains immediately. Then call the experts to deal with the issue.
How To Prevent Water Damage At Your Business
Below are some tips on how to protect your business from water damage:
- Inspect your drainage
- Clear your roof
- Insulate all exposed pipes
- Get an insurance cover
Inspect your drainage system regularly to catch potential problems before they cause damages. Check and clear any debris that could block the drainage. If the pipes are showing signs of cracks and rust, look for replacements right away.
Clear ice and snow from your roof to prevent ice dams. Ice dams can burden your roof, resulting in costly damages.
Exposed pipes can be affected by temperature changes. The water inside the pipes can freeze during winter leading to pressure buildup and bursts.
Lastly, protect your property with an insurance policy. Pipe breakage is usually covered in most property policies. However, if you want protection against flooding and groundwater, you’ll have to buy an extra cover.
It’s clear that water damage can have a severe impact on your business. So try to fix the issue as soon as possible. Then do your best to protect your property against future water damage with the tips shared above.