Plumbing Issues To Check After A Storm
With all the wild weather events along Wollongong and the South East of Australia over the last few days, it’s worthwhile to take a moment to check if your home’s plumbing is in order.
High winds, huge rainfall and flooding can lead to significant damage around your home or property.
At O'Brien Plumbing North Wollongong, we’ve got a few tips on how to check your drains and roofing after a deluge and what you can do going forward to prepare for the next storm event.
Roofing & Guttering
Your roof and gutters will likely be the most impacted part of your home after a storm. Check to see if any tree limbs have fallen onto your roof or if any roof tiles have slipped out of place creating an opening for rainwater to enter your roof space.
Make sure your guttering is intact and there are no roof leaks that could cause issues long after the storm has passed.
Blockages
With such a significant volume of water running through your storm drains, it’s very common for debris and objects to become washed into your drain and cause blockages.
When this happens, it’s unlikely an off the shelf solution chemical will help clear your blocked drains. If you’ve got blocked drains after a storm, call a professional plumbing team.
To prevent future issues or to check for a major blockage, place a garden hose down your downpipes to ensure they are flowing freely before the next rain event.
Check to see if your stormwater pits have filled up with silt too. If so clean them out to prevent your stormwater pipes from blocking.
How To Prepare For Future Storms
Once you’ve assessed your home for potential plumbing damage and implemented any repairs, take a few simple steps to prepare for future wild weather events.
Keep Your Roofing Maintained
Always maintain your roof, gutters, downpipe and stormwater.
When a large rain event happens you could be one of the thousands of phone calls made to the SES for help and it may take months before the insurance companies can complete the repairs due to the overwhelming workloads their tradesman have.
Depending on your coverage you may not even be covered if you have not maintained your roof, gutters, downpipes or stormwater.
Ensure all your gutters and especially valley gutters are clear of any leaf litter to prevent water from overflowing into your roof space.
If this occurs it will cause water damage to your ceiling or even worse causing your ceiling to collapse.
Keep Your Drains Clear
Check to see if your downpipes and stormwater drainage are not blocked for this will cause your eave gutters or box gutters to overflow causing damage internally of your building or eroding soil from around your dwelling.
Keep Updated With Emergency Services
Storms are unpredictable and can change swiftly, turning dangerous no matter how much you prepare. Always stay up to date with the latest storm information with NSW State Emergency Services (SES) and visit the SES website for additional information on how to prepare and what you should do to stay safe in floods and storms.
Need a plumber after the last storm?
At O'Brien Plumbing North Wollongong, our 24 hour emergency plumbers are available around the clock for repairs throughout the Illawarra region.
With expert local knowledge and quality workmanship guaranteed, you can count on us for everything when it comes to your plumbing needs. From your roof right down to your blocked drain pipes, we do it all.
Get in touch with us today on (02) 4284 3358.