Water Damage How To Prevent Water Damage And Save Cost

Mondays are hard enough ...

without being greeted by a cascading wall of water. A third floor air-conditioning pipe burst yesterday. You’ll spend weeks cleaning up, restoring equipment … putting other critical business activities on hold.

Water damage

How to keep your business flowing

Causes of Loss by Frequency

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See how water damage stacks up against other hazards.

EQUIPMENT BREAKDOWN

FIRE

Natural Hazards

LIQUID DAMAGE

Equipment Breakdown

15%

Fire

16%

Natural Hazards

27%

Liquid Damage

42%

Should I be concerned about water damage?

YES!

Even a relatively small quantity of water can severely damage finished interiors and high-valued digital or electronic equipment. The negative impact on business may be costly, could result in loss of goodwill and may require you to discontinue operations.

Leaky roofs and windows

Sprinkler piping

Cooling and heating piping and radiators

Sewage systems

Drains and drain lines

Domestic waterlines and systems

How does water damage happen?

Escaped liquids can result from multiple culprits:

Minimize your overall exposure to water damage.

Remember that liquid flows. That means high-valued equipment and devices, elevators, and computer equipment in its path are susceptible to damage. Even small leaks can severely damage offices, hotels, condominiums, retail stores, healthcare centers and schools.

MyRisk®

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FM Global clients Sign into to access the Liquid Damage Loss Control Center for client-only resources and templates.

AFM clients Sign into to access the Liquid Damage Loss Control Center for client-only resources and templates.

Download Liquid Damage Data sheet

Need more resources?

How can I prevent, manage and mitigate water damage loss?

Click for ways to reduce frequency and severity.

Critical room exposure

Emergency response

Preventive maintenance

Environment/ building envelope

Critical Room Exposure

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Critical rooms have high operational impact and house valuable contents that cannot be easily replaced.

Main and emergency power equipment

Data and communication centers

Diagnostic equipment rooms

Pharmacy and medical supplies storage

Laboratories and cleanrooms

Electrical and alarm system rooms

How to safeguard critical rooms

Added steps for locations below grade

• Check the room envelope for potential leak sources and entry points • Provide catch pans for overhead supply/drain pipes • Consider rerouting steam and liquid lines away from high-value equipment • Provide drainage and FM Approved leak detection with monitoring in rooms with liquid sources • Provide sump pumps connected to emergency power • Equip sump pumps with monitored high-water-level alarms • Equip below-grade drains/sewer lines with FM Approved backflow prevention valves

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Environment/Building Envelope

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Survey building envelopes (the exterior) for potential leaks. Be sure to consider the environment and the critical equipment/rooms within.

Be sure to

Provide labels

Inspect outside

• Seal wall, roof and ceiling penetrations with fire-resistant and watertight material • Review downspouts and ensure that they are extended away from buildings • Provide sump pumps at points of water ingress or collection • Label sprinkler control valves to identify the area controlled • Provide labeling to indicate a warning to avoid contact with sprinklers • Provide high-water-level alarms monitored at a constantly attended location • Equip sewer lines with FM Approved backflow prevention valves

Preventive Maintenance

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Adopt a robust preventive maintenance program. It could make the difference between a brief delay in business practices and a long-term shutdown.

Connections of dissimilar metals for corrosion

Water heaters for signs of corrosion

Water pumps for excessive vibration

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Monthly

Quarterly

Annually

Check Regularly

• Exercise domestic water control valves • Test sump pumps • Check/clear HVAC condensate drains • Check/clear roof drains

Emergency Response

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Use these steps to develop your emergency response plan

Water leaks can happen at any time, so adopt an effective response plan to mitigate the effects of liquid damage and return to operation as quickly as possible.

• Create an emergency response team (ERT), and train on a semiannual basis • Maintain a list of vendors for replacement equipment for your building, i.e., electrical, HVAC, elevator and plumbing • Identify where any salvageable content, stock or supplies may be stored if water damage is incurred

View all water damage tips ^

NATURAL HAZARDS