Hurricane season is here, and aside from hurricane-proofing your home for protection, you also need to check on your indoor equipment to prevent unnecessary breakdowns in the middle of a disaster. Your water heater, as the name implies, provides your home with a supply of heated water, and you wouldn’t like for it to experience a breakdown during bouts of bad weather! Here are some things that you need to do when your water heater breaks.

· Shut off the water valve. In the event of breakage, locate your home’s cold water supply pipe and shut it. Water typically stops flowing into your heater once it is full, but with the breakage on hand, it will continue to flow out. Shutting off the water valve will prevent further spillage. If you can’t locate your cold water supply pipe, just turn off your main water valve.

· Kill the power. After you have turned off your water valve, locate your electrical breaker box and turn off the breaker for your heater. If you leave the power running after your heater bursts, it can present a hazard as well as add to your energy costs.

· Drain your water heater. Locate the drain valve found at the bottom of your water heater’s tank. Attach a pipe or hose to this valve and position the other end of the hose away from your immediate location, preferably to a place where the water can safely flow out without the risk of causing any damage to the surrounding area. After the remaining water has been drained, rinse your heater with cold water. This can be done by re-opening the cold water supply pipe for a few minutes.

· Perform a clean-up. Inspect your surroundings and salvage any item that has not been damaged by the water. Document the water-damaged areas such as the walls for later usage when filing for an insurance claim. You might need the help of a professional water damage restoration company to clean-up a seriously water-damaged area.

· File an insurance claim. Contact your homeowners insurance provider to provide help in replacing or in covering repair costs for any damaged items.

Preventive maintenance is the key in minimizing and avoiding equipment breakdowns. When it comes to dealing with damage restoration, ServiceMaster of Savannah is the trusted choice for water damage restoration in Savannah, Georgia, and its surrounding areas. We are an emergency restoration company offering 24-hour services to provide an urgent response to your needs. In the event of water damage, contact ServiceMaster of Savannah at 912-234-0270.