How to Prevent Winter Water Damage in Your Home and Business
The beauty of a winter landscape covered in shining ice and fluffy snow is almost enough to make you forget about the harsh cold that causes it. However, homeowners and business owners alike should be prepared for that cold if they want to prevent damage to their buildings this winter. Living in Michigan, we’ve seen the effect that ice has on our roads, but the same process of freezing and expanding can damage your home, too. There are a few areas of your building that you should keep an eye on if you don’t want to shell out money for costly repairs once the ice thaws.
Stopping Winter Roof Damage Before It Happens
There’s a couple of ways that winter elements can damage your roof. The high winds that come with heavy storms are known to be strong enough to pull loose shingles off of a roof. If your roof is missing shingles, that leaves an opening for rain and melting ice to leak into your home and rot the wood in your roof and attic. We recommend you have a professional check for loose shingles and replace them before winter.
The wind isn’t the only danger to your roof. Once the snow starts to collect on your roof, you’ll want to have clear gutters. As the sun melts the snow, if the water can’t drain through your gutters, then it will pool and freeze. The same way ice damages roads, it can damage your roof. Cleaning gutters is never fun, but it’s still better than paying for preventable restoration.
Preventing Frozen Pipes
Sometimes even more costly than roof repairs is the damage that comes from frozen pipes. If your pipes could be exposed to the cold, be sure to have them wrapped in insulation. If you don’t, the water inside will freeze, expand, and burst your pipes. In addition to water damage, if the water is left to sit long enough you’ll have to deal with mold growing. Even insulated pipes can freeze and burst if the weather is cold enough, so be sure to check on them regularly.
Also, keep in mind that turning off the water to these pipes is not guaranteed to prevent bursting. The water in the pipes can still cause damage, and though the leakage will not be as bad as with a running pipe, it can still cause mold.
Protecting Outside Water Fixtures
Even though damage to outdoor water fixtures like spigots and hoses may not be as expensive as the other areas to protect, it’s still a nuisance and nobody likes throwing money away. Water to outdoor spigots should be shut off so that they don’t get cracked by ice. The same goes for your hoses, be sure to get the standing water out of them and put the hoses somewhere that’s dry and above freezing temperature.
Adams Complete Cleaning & Restoration | Winter Damage Restoration
With how unpredictable Michigan weather can be, you may end up with damage to your home or business during the winter no matter how many precautions you take. If you find yourself in need of professional help to deal with ice and storm damage, give Adams Complete Cleaning & Restoration a call. Our kind, the helpful crew will get to work quickly to fully restore damaged areas in your home or business at as low of a cost as possible. We even have 24-hour emergency service so that you’re not stuck with a growing problem for long.
To ask about our restoration services or to get a quote, give us a call at (586) 945-3507 or send in a contact form!