Three Tips to Avoid Freezing Pipes

11/18/2020 (Permalink)

Don't get caught with frozen pipes this winter

A slow leak in a pipe in your home in Lapeer County, may go undetected for a while, but there's no mistaking the sudden and extensive damage a pipe that has frozen can cause. Here are some pipe freeze prevention tips to help keep your home safe from busted pipes and water damage during the winter.

3 Tips To Avoid Freezing Pipes and Water Damage

1. Prevention

The best way to avoid extensive water damage from frozen pipes is to prevent the issue from happening in the first place. There are a few places in your home where your pipes are the most vulnerable to freezing:

• Right inside exterior walls
• Connected to exterior faucets
• Inside closed cabinets
• In unheated areas such as attics and crawl spaces

There are several things you can do to prevent pipes from freezing. Insulate your pipes, particularly the ones that are near exterior walls or in spaces cut off from the central heating in your living spaces. You can apply electrical heating tape to pipes as well. Be sure to keep your heater on, even when you are not at home, if temperatures outside are below freezing. During the coldest parts of the day, it's a good idea to open your cabinet doors or allow your water faucets to drip for reliable pipe freeze prevention.

2. Detection

If you can catch a frozen pipe before it bursts, you may be able to save the pipe and the area around it from damage. A telltale sign that you have a frozen pipe is a significantly smaller flow when you turn on a faucet. Turn the faucet off, locate the pipe and slowly warm it up, allowing the ice inside to melt. The faucet should then flow normally again.

3. Solution

A burst pipe leads to water damage that can only be properly repaired by water mitigation experts. The technicians must tear out all ruined materials and rebuild the area affected by the flooding. If your insurance doesn't cover the cost, you may be looking at a lot of out-of-pocket expenses.

These pipe freeze prevention tips can protect your home from water damage. Make pipe protection part of your regular winter maintenance plan.  Should you find yourself in a wet and cold situation, SERVPRO of Lapeer is available 24/7/365 (yes, including holidays) to mitigate your water damage and get you back to normal.  Call us at 810-644-1000 anytime to get started.