A toilet is considered to be one of the most important rooms in a house. It is important in maintaining someone’s hygiene in a comfortable and private environment. However, in some cases, it fails to perform its function.
Water damage from a toilet can be even more frustrating as you have to deal with water that contains pathogens or can cause health hazards. It is highly recommended that when this type of water damage happens, it is best to call in professionals.
Water Damage Caused by Toilet Overflowing
There are many reasons why your toilet becomes the source of water damage. However, the most common reason is overflowing. Overflowing happens when something has clogged your toilet. It happens unintentionally or because people are not so aware of the negative effect of throwing things on your toilet bowl.
What To Do If Your Toilet Overflows
Knowing how to handle toilet overflows can help you manage such an intense situation. Follow the steps below when your toilet overflows.
- Turn off the water supply. When overflowing starts happening in your toilet, you should turn off the water supply line immediately. Most of the time this valve can be found near the bottom side of the bowl, below the tank.
If water is keeps running, remove the tank cover and pull up the float cup or float ball to stop the water. If this did not stop the water from running, turn off the main water supply line in the house.
- Don’t flush again. If you are sure that your toilet is clogged, never attempt to flush it again. Keep flushing does not help in fixing the problem.
- Use a plunger. If water has stopped running, try using a plunger to unclog your toilet. Plungers are effective tools in dislodging clogs.
- Try an auger to remove clogs. If a plunger was not able to fix the problem, you may try an Auger. The good thing about a toilet auger is it can move through the drain of the toilet and remove any obstructions. And when done, you can simply pull it off.
- Contact a professional plumber to fix the problem.
- Contact a certified restoration company to sanitize and clean up toilet water damage.
How to Prevent Water Damage From Your Toilet
There are two ways you can prevent water damage from your toilet.
- Make sure to perform bi-annual maintenance. Check all the components of your toilet. That includes supply valve, flush valve, fill, chain and others. If any of these components need repair, do so. Make sure that you know how to turn off the water valve.
- Keep the wrong things away from your toilet bowl. Never flush fatty fluids, baby wipes, diapers, soap, facial tissue, paper, fabric, sanitary products, and even products that claimed to be flushable in your toilet bowl. Use is for its purpose alone. Don’t use it as your instant garbage can.
Clean and Sanitize Your Bathroom after Overflowing
Once you have stopped water running into your bathroom and you have removed any standing water, begin cleaning and sanitizing all the surfaces of your bathroom. You may use a multipurpose cleaning agent. Clean every surface, including the areas that did not come in contact with the water that overflowed from the toilet. Then, use a hospital-grade disinfectant. This chemical can sanitize your bathroom and prevent mold growth later on.
Do not use bleach as it cannot effectively kill molds.
What If Toilet Overflowed through Ceiling?
When the toilet that has overflowed is located on the 2nd or 3rd floor of the home, it is most likely your ceiling downstairs will be affected.
Remember that the floor of your bathroom upstairs is the ceiling of the lower part of your home. If water has seeped into the floor, it may damage the ceiling below.
You won’t easily see signs of water damage from your ceiling when only a small amount of water overflows. But be sure to be on guard for any possible things that could happen.
When wastewater starts dripping from your ceiling, you may follow certain procedures in fixing water damaged ceiling. In most cases, you have to replace the affected area to avoid further damage.
Will My Insurance Company Cover Water Damage from Toilet?
Maybe yes, maybe no. It depends highly on how the damage occurs. Your homeowner’s insurance company will cover water damage from a toilet when the damage happened suddenly or by accident. If your toilet is properly maintained, they will surely cover the damage. If the cause of the water damage from a toilet was caused by your sewer line, your insurance company will likely uncover the damage.
Let Professionals help you
It is indeed difficult to handle water damage from a toilet. Not only it is time-consuming and stressful, but it is also dangerous as the water may contain harmful bacteria. Let the local water damage restoration company help you. They can surely sanitize your bathroom and make sure that no further damage will happen, especially to your flooring. Contact them today.