| In addition to causing destruction, water damage also | | | | away from the house and adding rain gutters will guide |
| has an adverse affect to the indoor air quality of your | | | | rainwater away from the house.Openings from the |
| home. | | | | house to the attic and poor ceiling insulation in houses |
| Damage from water can cause wood rot, insect | | | | located in colder climates can lead to ice dams that |
| infestation and mold .The obvious causes of water | | | | cause water to back up into the house.Air leakage |
| damage are leaking roofs, windows, doors, foundation | | | | from the house to the attic will carry moisture in the |
| cracks and visible plumbing leaks. | | | | form of humidity into the attic that can form water on |
| These are fairly easy to detect, enabling a quick | | | | the underside of the roof leading to rotting and |
| repair before maximum damage occurs.The | | | | mold.Typical leakage points between the house and |
| not-so-obvious culprits are moisture behind finished | | | | attic are:leaky attic hatches |
| basement walls that are insulated with fiberglass; poor | | | | holes drilled for plumbing pipes and electrical wires that |
| grading around foundation walls and air leaks that | | | | penetrate the attic and are usually not sealed |
| occur between the living space and attic.Insulating | | | | Recessed light fixtures that are not the airtight type |
| finished basement walls with fiberglass is not a good | | | | Exhaust fans that vent directly into the atticFor those |
| idea.Fiberglass will absorb water and not allow it to | | | | who live in warmer climates, water damage can occur |
| travel through the wall, preventing a drying | | | | within your walls because of poorly designed air |
| effect.Some people think installing a plastic barrier in | | | | conditioning systems.Systems that are oversized (a |
| the wall is the answer, but this approach only traps | | | | larger capacity than necessary)will not remove enough |
| moisture. | | | | humidity which leads to high moisture levels that |
| A better way is to use rigid insulation (also known as | | | | condense on cooler surfaces.Duct systems that are |
| blue board).This insulation is semi-permeable and allows | | | | imbalanced can draw outside humidity through walls |
| moisture to travel through the wall, allowing it to dry. | | | | that can produce water in the walls.Mitigating these |
| Water can also enter the basement if the grade of | | | | problems requires a professional. |
| the land is pitched toward the house.Grading the soil | | | | |