Water damage to your home can be caused by hurricanes, tornadoes, thunderstorms, and flooding from spring rains or snow melt.

Here’s how to protect valuable items in your home from water damage.


plastic storage bins on a blue shelf
Store expensive items in plastic bins up high. (3 Echoes Content Studio)

Waterproof Storage

Place valuable items that can be damaged by water in large, sealable plastic containers.

Tape the lid with duct tape, and store the containers on the second story of your home or in the attic.


Sofa with concrete block inset
An inexpensive concrete block can save an expensive sofa during a flood. (Photo illustation: Perytskyy, Getty Images, Erika Wittlieb, Pixabay)

Elevate Furniture

Place concrete blocks under sofas and other furniture to raise them up off the floor away from rising floodwaters.

If you get six inches of floodwater in your home, a few eight-inch cinder blocks may provide the protection you need to save that dining room suite you’re so fond of.


Plastic covered sofa and chair in a living room
Cover expensive items with plastic to protect them from roof leaks. (MART PRODUCTION, Pexels)

Cover with Plastic

Cover furniture, computers, TVs, and other items with plastic sheeting to protect them from roof leaks.

Watch the video above to find out more.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Danny Lipford: For many of us severe weather is an unfortunate fact of life during the summer, and that can lead to water damage in our homes. It could be flooding from sudden summer storms; but for me, here along the Gulf Coast, hurricanes are the big concern.

Now, whether the issue is rising water or a leaky roof caused by high winds, the problem is this. When the time comes to evacuate your home you can only take so much with you, so how do you protect that stuff you have to leave behind? Well here are a few ideas that might help you.

Now spending just a few dollars spent on some of the large plastic containers can buy you a big piece of mind, if you use them to store items like photos that can’t get wet, but they do have sentimental value. Seal the lid well with duct tape, and if rising water is your concern, then move the boxes to the highest level in your home, that may even be your attic.

Furniture, for example, is valuable, too, but you can’t move it all of it to the attic before you leave so consider just raising it up off of the floor where it is. If your home say gets six inches of floodwater in it, a few eight-inch cinder blocks may provide the protection you need to save that dining room suite you’re so fond of. You can also protect furniture and electronics from overhead leaks by covering them with lightweight plastic.

So, plan ahead, have this stuff on hand before severe weather threatens, and then do what I do—hope and pray you don’t have to use it.


Further Information


Editorial Contributors
avatar for Danny Lipford

Danny Lipford

Founder

Danny Lipford is a home improvement expert and television personality who started his remodeling business, Lipford Construction, at the age of 21 in Mobile, Alabama. He gained national recognition as the host of the nationally syndicated television show, Today's Homeowner with Danny Lipford, which started as a small cable show in Mobile. Danny's expertise in home improvement has also led him to be a contributor to popular magazines and websites and the go-to source for advice on everything related to the home. He has made over 200 national television appearances and served as the home improvement expert for CBS's The Early Show and The Weather Channel for over a decade. Danny is also the founder of 3 Echoes Content Studio, TodaysHomeowner.com, and Checking In With Chelsea, a décor and lifestyle blog.

Learn More