As you might already know, winter in Arizona can come almost out of nowhere. Especially if you live in the Northern parts of the state. Although our first instinct might be to head snowboarding or make a snowman. As an Arizona homeowner, one of the first things you should do is ensure that your home is prepared for the winter and ready to prevent the main causes of winter water damage.
Some of these tips will take some of your time and maybe a dollar or two, but it will be much cheaper in the long run than having to remedy severe water damage to your property.
Below you will find three tips from our water mitigation experts to help you prevent water damage. If you are in the middle of experiencing a water damage emergency in the Phoneix or Payson areas please give us a call immediately to ensure maximum safety to your household structure!
Prevent Your Pipes From Freezing
A frozen water pipe indicates that water inside the pipe is going to expand during the freeze. This expansion has the possibility to deform and weaken your pipes, or even worse it could cause enough pressure to lead the pipe to completely burst. One of the biggest issues in this situation is you may not know that the pipe has burst until everything has thawed out. You can find that you will have water everywhere. The pipes you should be most concerned about are outside your house, as well as those inside that don’t have access to heat, such as in your garage, under your cabinets, or in your basement. Here are a few tips we recommend to keep your home water damage free from the freezes this winter.
Remove Any Snow or Ice From Potentially Hazard Areas
A very common problem during snowfalls that can cause water damage forgetting to properly remove snow and ice from your home & roof. It’s common to make sure your driveways and sidewalks are cleared of snow and ice, but removing the excess moisture from the remaining part of your house should be one of your first steps of snow removal.
A major area to remove snow from, but one that might be harder to do, is your roof. When snow is left on your roof, it can create an edge on your roof, preventing melting now from draining off the roof properly. Click here for more on this issue.
If you have any cracks in your foundation, make sure those cracks are clear as well. If melting snow gets into the cracks and freezes, that freezing causes expansion, which can lead to some major damage to your foundation and inside of your home.
Simple things like the following can save you thousands!
Practice Prevention – Make sure all exposed pipes are properly insulated. Pipe sleeves are not that expensive, much cheaper than your insurance deductible or hiring a water damage professional!
When you know the temperatures are really going to drop or you know a snow is on its way in Northern Arizona - open any cabinets that will allow warm air to get to those pipes.
Keep your garage door closed!
Make sure your hoses are disconnected
Contact Scottsdale & Payson's Water Damage Restoration Company
If you are experiencing this situation yourself and don't know what to do next now that water has entered your home, it is vital that you act fast! The longer that water sits on or in your home, the more damage it can cause to your property.
Give your favorite water damage restoration experts a call at Sunshine Restoration so we can get your home back to normal as fast as possible!