A leaky faucet doesn’t seem like much. After all, what more damage could a few drips of water do than cause a puddle and some damp areas? But a leaky faucet is just the beginning: What starts as a few drips of water can actually cause you thousands of dollars in home repairs and even lead to medical bills and long-term health conditions. If you have a leaky faucet, make sure you get it fixed today to prevent these three problems.
Damp and Wet Spaces Cause Mold Growth
Image via Flickr by matsuyuki
If the spaces under your kitchen sink and bathroom are regularly wet and irregularly cleaned, you can quickly develop a mold problem. Most homeowners spend between $1,000 and $3,000 to free their homes of mold, which can spread quickly and get out of hand. In some of the worst cases, people have spent thousands upon thousands of dollars clearing their living areas of mold.
Mold causes breathing problems in people who are prone to asthma and allergies, but it can also be toxic for anyone to breathe in. Black mold in particular can affect healthy people who have strong immune systems, leading to headaches and chronic fatigue. With each drip of your leaky faucet, you’re making the problem worse.
Pests Are Attracted to Water and Damp Environments
There are more than 55 species of cockroaches in the United States, many of which can survive for weeks without food. When they do eat, they can live on anything from dead skin cells to hair — both of which most people have in their bathrooms. Furthermore, cockroaches need water only every few days to survive and are drawn to shallow pools such as the ones forming under your leaky faucet.
Although cockroaches and other pests might seem like minor annoyances, they can also affect your health. They spread disease and trigger allergies. Furthermore, they’re not as easy to get rid of as you think. You could spend up to $500 to remove them in extreme cases.
Water Damages and Warps Hardwood Floors
Water is the biggest threat to wood flooring. The wood becomes warped and discolored, making it hard to walk on and possibly even a danger in the home. Furthermore, all it takes is a few warped planks to push on other pieces of flooring and cause them to become deformed as well. Although you might be used to squeaky floors, you could pay the price when you try to sell your home.
Even water isn’t coming into contact with hardwood floors, wood could still suffer damage from a leaky faucet. Water could wear away cabinets and cause damage that exposes the interior of your house — letting other pests in. The cost of water damage can range from $1,000 to $3,000 and even extend to $6,000 for major fixes.
Between warped wood, pests, and mold, you could spend almost $10,000 on home repairs because of a leaky faucet. Meanwhile, the cost of a wrench or replacement pipe at your local supply store won’t exceed $20. It’s worth the time and expense to invest in this quick fix.
from Feedster http://www.feedster.com/blog/sambradford/leaky-pipes/
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