Water Damage: Preventing Frozen Pipes This Winter

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Water Damage: Preventing Frozen Pipes This Winter

Homeowners take note – in addition keeping your fireplace clean and your sidewalks shoveled, take care of your water pipes this winter. Water expands when frozen which means during the cold winter months, the water in pipes could be a potential danger. If that water freezes and expands, it could cause that pipe to burst resulting in thousands of dollars in damages and repair costs. If you own your home or any building take care to follow these tips: Preventing water damage caused by broken water pipes · Know where and how to shut-off the water supply to your home or building. · If your power goes out and the water does not seem to be running properly, turn off the main water valve that leads into your home. Then turn on all the faucets in your home until all the water is out. This will relieve the pressure in the pipe system making it less likely that they will freeze or crack. · Make sure the doors to your garage are closed when the temperatures dip – pipes will stay up to 20 degrees warmer if the door stays closed, even if it is not heated space. · If your family plans to leave for an extended period of time, leave your heat on at a maintained 55°F or higher to reduce the chance of your pipes freezing should the temperatures drop. If the temperatures are expected to be bad, you may also want to have a friend drop by to check on your home while you are gone. · Additionally, if you will be gone for a long time, open bathroom and kitchen cabinets where the pipes are located to allow the warm air in your home to circulate around the plumbing and let the water trickle out of your faucets. If your water pipes freeze and break: · Shut off the main water valve and turn on the faucet to the pipe you suspect has frozen to help relieve pressure and potentially melt anything that remains frozen in the pipe. · If accessible, safely check the pipe for any cracks, breaks, or leaks. · If the pipe is clearly frozen, you can try to warm the pipe by blowing hot air from a hair dryer on the spot where the pipe is cracked. This is primarily useful for smaller pipes that are easy to get to. · Call a restoration specialist to have them assess the damage and take immediate action. A specialist will have experience with different types of water damage issues that may be associated with broken pipes. They should be able to help you assess the damages the broken pipe and water have caused and quickly clean up the mess. Most will give you guidance on how to avoid any future mold damage that may be associated with excessive water, as well. Ultimately, a broken water pipe is something that can be fixed with some time and know how. The reasons for preventing it from happening are twofold. The first is the simple expense of having to fix plumbing pipes and damages associated with it. It wastes homeowner time and money. The second reason is that a broken pipe has the potential to take much more than that. Most broken pipes occur in basements, garages, kitchens and bathrooms. These places contain valuable possessions – old photographs, financial documents, home movies – things that would break your heart if you lost them. A document restoration service could help you get some of those things back. Advances in freeze drying techniques and document recovery systems make fixing wet documents and photos easier than it has ever been before. But some items may be too far gone to be fixed. And that could be devastating. So take some precautions to ensure you don't have to battle water damage this winter. Take care of your pipes. Have a restoration specialist at the ready should a problem arise. Enjoy some peace of mind. ~Flora Richards-Gustafson, 2009 This Article Was Written By: Flora Richards-Gustafson
Flora is a frequent writer for Rapid Refile LLC. Rapid Refile specializes in Pennsylvania and New York document recovery needs. Visit the website to read more about recovering wet documents and our special freeze-drying techniques for the area. Article Source: http://www.the-landscape-design-site.com/diy Please Rate this Article Not yet Rated Click the XML Icon Above to Receive Home Repairs Articles Via RSS! Additional Articles From - Home \| Home Repairs Freezing Pipes \| Why You Should Prevent Frozen Pipes - By : Flora Richards-Gustafson Flooding \| Cardboard is Not Waterproof and other things Learned from a Flooded Basement - By : Nicole Krueger Hurricane Damage Prevention: What You Should Know - By : Flora Richards-Gustafson What You Need to Do with Your Leaky Kitchen Faucets - By : Lena Kavhovsky 1-800-Repiping.com: How to Tell If You Need to Repipe Your Home - By : Jeff Butler Cordless Power Tools or Electric Power Tools? - By : Chris Nicholas Essential Tips to Keep Home Improvement Costs Down - By : Kristi Cole Fatigue And Safety For Do-It-Yourselfers - By : housebuilder Do we need safety glass in our home - By : housebuilder Changing a Toilet Wax Ring - By : Mark Donovan Free Landscaping Ideas Free Landscaping Pictures Directory Pictures Of Backyard Landscaping Buy Landscape Fabric Backyard Landscaping Ideas Front Yard Landscaping Ideas Landscaping Plan Landscaping Plans Lawn Care