New England winters come with freezing temperatures and plenty of ice and snow, easily causing pipes to freeze if homeowners aren’t careful.
While the majority of homeowners’ insurance policies will cover water damage from frozen pipes that burst, it’s no fun to deal with the hassle of the damage from the aftermath. Here are some simple ways to keep the water in your pipes flowing until spring:
- Proper Insulation: Check your house for areas where pipes may be exposed to cold temperatures, such as a garage, attic or underneath exterior steps. Make efforts to insulate those pipes with a pipe sleeve or heat tape.
- Let Water Drip: If you can’t properly insulate, letting water run will keep a pipe from freezing. This isn’t a great long-term solution, but it can help, especially if you are leaving to go on vacation for some time.
- Keep the Heat On: Do you have parts of your home that you don’t frequent? Or do you rely on a space heater to keep your bedroom and living room warm? To keep the pipes in those rooms from freezing up, you don’t want any area of your home to dip below 55 or 60 degrees in the winter.
- Close the Garage: While you’re probably already doing this if it’s snowing outside, remember to keep your garage doors closed throughout the winter.
- Open and Close Valves: If you have an indoor hose bib that leads outdoors, close the indoor bib and open the exterior one. This will allow any pent-up water to flow out instead of freezing.
But my pipes are already frozen!
If your pipes have already frozen but have not yet burst, there’s still time: Take an electric heating pad or a hair dryer and warm the frozen area (do not use a blowtorch or any other open flame). It’ll take some patience, but with constant application of heat, you should be able to get water flowing again.
Too late! The pipe burst…
While it’s too late to stop the damage from happening, Sabel Adjusters is here to help you recover what you deserve. Call us today for a free consultation!
