How To Prevent Winter Water Damage To Your Home
These helpful tips will help to prevent water damage to your home during the winter season.
05/03/2020
Winter can be a wonderland, enjoying the snowy scenery outside or simply avoiding the cold, and keeping nice and toasty indoors. The best way to spend the winter season is to be carefree of any home disasters that might occur. Unfortunately, that soft fluffy stuff outside and the lower temperature can be problematic to your home without the proper care. Ensure that you spend winter warm and cozy with your family and not wet and cold with these helpful tips to prevent water damage to your home during the winter season.
Insulate And Maintain Your Pipes
It is very important to keep, not only your house insulated, but your pipes as well. Because water can and will change temperature quickly and easily, this can be a problem with any stagnating water supplies or sources. In some cases where it may be colder and insulation may not be sufficient to prevent stagnant water from freezing, having your water run even a little in the form of a trickle, preventing it from staying stagnant, may help to prevent it from freezing. This is especially important in areas of your home that are not regularly heated such as basements, attics, and garages.
Install A Filtration System
One good way to help you stay on top of taking care of pipes and ensuring they are running water through them, to prevent stagnation. One good way to manage your pipes is by filtering your water through a system as it will allow you to cut off water supplies easier in the event of leaks. Having water running through a filtration system running through your home can section off your piping system and make repairs easier to deal with and manage.
Check For And Fix Cracks And Leaks
Cracks and leaks need to be attended to immediately. Cracks or leaks in your pipes will cause more damage, so if you find any issues, immediately shut off your water and call for a professional to help with the repairs. During the winter, this can be especially difficult, so it is important to maintain good structural care in the fall and spring seasons of the year. You also want to fix any cracks and holes in your home that can allow cold air during the winter months into your house. These damages will increase the likelihood of freezing and potentially burst pipes.
Look Out For And Fix Ice Dams
Heavy snowfall during the winter can cause ice dams to form, which can be detrimental and damaging to your roof. If you find the snow to be deeper than 6 inches after a heavier snowfall, you should remove it. This can be troublesome depending on the weather conditions, so it is advisable to hire a professional to ensure your safety as well to ensure no damage is caused to your roof. Ice dams form when excess snow remains on your roof and begins to melt from the heat of your home. This can then refreeze causing ice dams to block your drains and ice to build up. If this happens, this can be extremely damaging to your roof. Installing snow shields and gutters can help prevent buildup and debris from blocking your drains. And ensuring your home, and especially attic is properly insulated and air circulation allows for proper flow can help prevent ice dams from forming.
Keep Your Home Warm
Keeping your home or apartment at a warmer temperature is a good idea, as the heat will ensure and help prevent freezing pipes from occurring in your home. Yes, your heating bill may be a little higher, but that is an expense that you would much rather have than tending to repairs on damages to your home if a pipe were ever to burst.
Maintain Your Home All Year Round
Once the winter season is over or beginning to end, snow buildup on your roof can prove to be problematic in the form of ice dams as previously mentioned. During winter, you want to clear snow from the roof, but during spring, it’s best to clean gutters and drains of any sort of debris like leaves and twigs so water can travel freely and unimpeded. Once the snow begins to melt, it is a good idea to check your home, your roof, basements, and attics especially, for any leaks. These can be signs of structural damage that you will have to look at.
With winters being long, the last thing you want is to make them even longer and more stressful for yourself. Stay warm and dry, and ensure that you have taken all the necessary precautions in maintaining your home. Keep the winter blues away with a few easy to maintain steps and prevent any water damage during your snowy season.