Fight Winter Water Damage

11/22/2019 (Permalink)

A few basic steps, taken before and during winter, will really help you prevent costly winter water damage to your home.

Here comes another New England winter—and here comes the increased chance of damage to your home from water leaks. Burst pipes, storm damage, rooftop ice dams and other cold-weather hazards all put your home at risk. Withstand the challenges and stay water-tight by following these tips.

Prepare Your Home for Winter

Do these tasks to help prevent damage to your home from floods and leaks—and even from tree branches and too much snow on your roof. They are all winter hazards!

• Clean out your gutters.
• Disconnect and drain outside hoses. Close inside valves supplying water to outdoor faucets and hookups. Once the water supply is turned off, open the outdoor faucets to allow residual water to drain, and keep them open during the cold weather months.
• Trim back tree branches that could get weighed down with ice or snow and fall on your house—or your neighbor's.
• Hire a contractor to repair roof leaks and determine if it can sustain the weight of a heavy snowfall.

Keep Your Pipes Too Warm to Freeze

Frozen water expands and puts pressure on pipes, which can cause them to burst. You may not even know right away that you have a burst pipe until it thaws out and the leaking and flooding start.

You can prevent a damaging leak from a burst pipe—and save money on your heating costs, too—when you do these common-sense tasks before the cold season.

• Wrap water pipes in your basement or crawl spaces with insulation sleeves.
• Insulate walls and attics, and caulk and weather-strip doors and windows.
• Set your home’s temperature set to 55 degrees or higher. Make sure your furniture doesn't block your heating vents. Close your fireplace flue when you're not using it.

During cold spells, take some additional steps:

• Open cabinet doors in the kitchen and bathroom so that warm air circulates around pipes.
• Allow a slow trickle of water to flow through faucets connected to unheated or exposed pipes.
• If you will be away from your home during cold periods, consider draining the water system.

Avoid Ice Dams

When water from melted snow refreezes above your eaves or in the gutters, it can seep in under the roof, soaking interior walls creating the need for water damage restoration. These are ways to prevent ice dams from forming on your roof:

• Adequately ventilate and insulate your attic.
• Clear your gutters and downspouts of leaves and debris.
• Consider having a water-repellent membrane installed under your roof covering.

If your home or business suffers a flood, call SERVPRO of West Hartford today at 860.206.6141 for immediate water damage cleanup and restoration of your structure and property

We’re Here for You

The team at SERVPRO of West Hartford has specialized training and experience in water damage remediation, fire restoration services, natural disaster prevention, chemical cleanup, and natural disaster cleanup. Call SERVPRO of West Hartford (860.206.6141) any time.

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If your home or business suffers a flood, call SERVPRO of West Hartford today at 860.206.6141 for immediate water damage cleanup and restoration of your structure and property