Frozen Pipes and burst Pipes
Ways to Lower Your Risk Of Having Pipes Burst or Freeze
Homeowners often find an indoor swimming pool in their property when they
haven’t taken proper precautions to prevent or deal with frozen
pipes. Here are some excellent ways to ensure prevent water damage from
frozen pipes.
- Set your house temperature above 55 degrees. Sure, lower temperatures on your thermostat can definitely help reduce your heating expenses, but go too low and you put pipes near external walls in danger.
- Automate your oil and/or propane delivery. A substantial number of frozen pipe water damages we restore are the result of no heating fuel in homes vacant due to vacation or seasonal use. It’s worth automating this process so you don’t have to worry about a mess when you check on your property.
- Make sure your furnace is properly maintained. Gas, propane and oil furnaces must be regularly inspected and verified to be in good working order. The litany of potential failures are too many to list here, but it’s well worth the $150 or so each year to get a pro to keep your furnace running strong.
- Exposed pipes near exterior walls are a potential problem. Careful inspection of your plumbing is essential to preventing frozen pipes. People are often surprised by how many pipes are not properly insulated near exterior walls. Local hardware stores will offer suitable insulating materials to offer some additional protection.
- When the pipes are frozen, break out the flamethrower to thaw them out. Using any open flame device will cause temperature shock to the piping and likely cause it to rupture. We’ve also seen potential water damage claims turn into fire damage claims because of this. Instead, use a space heater or blow dryer. You may also find that wrapping the pipe in towels soaked in hot water can help. Keep the faucet open to facilitate the movement of water during the warming process.
Next Steps with Burst or Frozen Pipes
Using common sense preventive measures will usually keep you well protected from frozen pipe water damage. However, we’ve seen many disasters happen occur in spite of well executed preventive measures. ServiceMaster Fire & Water Restoration is always here to help, 24/7/365 if a disaster occurs! We service Southern, Western and Central Maine, including Portland, Lewiston, Auburn, Oxford, Bethel, Augusta, Waterville, Brunswick.