Keeping your home dry
It’s not fun stepping in a puddle outside, let alone in your home. But sadly, water seepage is one of the most common issues affecting UK properties during the wet winter months.
Water can come up through your floor for many reasons, some of which are simple fixes you can do yourself and others which will require the help of professionals.
Below, we’ve listed five of the the most common causes of floor water, as well as advice about what you can do to fix them.
5 reasons you have water on your floor
1. Water is actually leaking through your ceiling
Sometimes the water you see on your floor isn’t rising up from below, but dripping down from above. Check your ceiling for damp or wet patches which could signify the presence of a leak.
Ceiling water leaks can escalate to cause significant damage if left unattended so we highly recommend establishing whether this is the problem quickly.
2. You have a leak in the floor
Of course, sometimes the leak is actually not in the ceiling but in the floor itself. Water leaks beneath your floor can be incredibly hard to find without the right equipment, but if you’re seeing water at the surface, it can make the job a lot easier.
Pipes burst due to corrosion, poor installation and damage from freezing temperatures. Water escaping from a broken pipe can rise up through your floor and into your home.
Keep an eye on your water meter and use your external and internal stop valves to pause the flow to your home. During this time, if your meter doesn’t move, you can be confident a broken pipe or faulty underfloor heating is to blame. If it does, the reason for water on your floor may lie elsewhere.
3. The ground is saturated with water
Increased rainfall during the winter raises the water table and causes prolonged periods of heavily saturated ground. This can put pressure on the foundation of your home and cause water to seep in through any defects.
Unfortunately, even concrete can develop cracks over time due to settling or shifting of the ground beneath your home. These cracks can be quite small – in fact, they might not be visible to the naked eye – but they can still allow water in.
If you suspect this is the cause of your floor water problem, call in a foundation repair expert to assess the situation and recommend solutions.
4. Your gutters are clogged or broken
Your gutters play an important role in keeping water away from your home by redirecting rainwater runoff to another location, typically a storm drain.
If your gutters are not functioning properly, you could end up with water seeping into your basement, a crawl space or the actual foundations of your property .
Clogged gutters are usually caused by leaves and other debris that have accumulated over time. If left unchecked, they can cause serious damage not only to your guttering, but also to your roof and fascia boards (the boards that runs along the lower edge of your roof).
Be sure to clean your gutters regularly and replace any damaged sections as soon as you notice them.
5. The caulking or sealant around windows and doors has failed
Caulking and sealant are used around openings such as windows and doors to create an airtight barrier that prevents water from getting inside.
But like everything else, caulking and sealant degrade over time, meaning they need to be replaced periodically (usually every three to five years). Failing to do so can result in serious water damage not only around windows and doors but also inside your walls themselves.
Suspect a broken pipe?
If you suspect that the water coming up through your floor is the result of a burst pipe, you should contact a leak detection specialist as soon as possible.
Broken pipes don’t heal themselves. At Miracle Leak Detection, we’re experts in finding and fixing all types of internal and external water leaks across the UK.
Call us for free on 0800 037 7078 to arrange a free visual inspection today.
