New Year’s dishwashers and rotten water hoses created water chaos and destruction in a record number of homes last year, according to the insurance company If.
– Old hoses and gaskets are a cause that recur when the kitchen floor or the entire floor overflows with water, according to communications manager Sigmund Clementz in If.
Empty this – often!
– Record
There were 5984 water leaks and damage from so-called water-connected machines. The number has never been so high before, according to If.
The water leaks caused damage of more than NOK 292 million.
Figures from Finans Norge show that water-connected machines accounted for 11.2 per cent of the internal water damage reported to the insurance companies in 2020.
Internal pipes and drains accounted for the largest share of these damages: 71.2 per cent.
Water heaters, sanitary equipment and heating systems accounted for nine percent of the damage – while leaky wet rooms accounted for 8.6 percent of the damage.
According to If, the number of injuries in recent years has been around 4,500, but in 2016 there were over 5,335 water injuries. In 2019, the number was 4396 water damage due to leaks from water-connected machines.
Figures from Finans Norge nevertheless show that last year there were fewer building damage indoors in private homes and cottages – both water damage and burns.
– Due to the corona epidemic, many have been at home a lot and taken good care of their houses. Water damage will probably not go undetected for long now that more people are staying in the home office, says communications manager Stine Neverdal in Finans Norge.
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Missing off
– A good part of the damage is very large because many homes lack drains in the kitchen to cope with the water. This primarily applies to older homes, because there was no requirement for drains in the kitchen before, says Clementz.
Neverdal in Finans Norge points out that more expensive equipment and furniture also make the damage more expensive – and that water-connected equipment is often a source of water damage in the kitchen:
– We have increasingly fine interiors, as well as more and more expensive equipment and furniture in our homes. Many water damage occurs in kitchens and bathrooms. In the kitchen, there is a lot of water-connected equipment that can also be sources of water damage, says Neverdal.
– Such as coffee machines with water supply and refrigerators with ice cubes did not exist in Norwegian kitchens before, and these new devices are helping to increase the numbers. In the 70’s it was common with orange or green linoleum on the kitchen floor. The coating withstood a noise. Many animals now have parquet, and the living room often blends in with the kitchen. Of course the damage will be bigger and more costly, says Clementz.
Finans Norge warns that water can do great damage – and emphasizes that it is important that drying and repair of such damage takes place as quickly as possible.
The bottom line: This is how the cutlery should stand
No membrane requirement
According to the Directorate for Building Quality (DIBK), there is no requirement for a membrane in the kitchen, as there is for bathrooms, and the room is therefore more exposed to water damage.
The kitchen is one of the rooms that gets the most water damage, and the number of water damage is increasing.
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According to it new service from DIBK, smartereoppussing.no, There are two things that are important to consider in the kitchen:
1: Automatically install leak stoppers for equipment connected to water to avoid leakage damage.
And
2: Consider placing waterproof protection under the dishwasher or other equipment connected to water – to detect leaks more quickly before major damage has occurred.
The smartest renovation!
According to DIBK, automatic leak stops for equipment connected to water are both smart and often a requirement. This is equipment such as a dishwasher, steam oven, ice maker and similar equipment.
Clementz also recommends leak arresters and water sensors in the kitchen:
– Then you are quickly informed that something is going on, and the water is stopped so that the damage is not as great as it could have been. The boring thing about water damage in multi-family homes, apartment buildings and blocks is that one or more neighbors are often also affected, he says.
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