February 05th, 2019

Avoid winter water damage with these easy tips.

​At Mark’s Cleaning Service, we want our customers to know the dangers of the bitter cold weather. When water freezes, it expands by about 9%. This causes increased pressure in your home’s pipes, which can lead to pipes cracking or bursting. The tiniest crack in a pipe can spill up to 250 gallons of water a day. There are several ways to prevent frozen pipes from damaging your home. One way is to insulate pipes by any crawlspaces, and exterior walls of your home. These are the areas where pipes are more likely to burst. An easy way to insulate pipes near your crawl space is to install snap-on foam insulation or UL approved heat tape. If you plan on being away from your home during bitter cold winter days, we recommend turning up the furnace and thermostat. This will prevent frozen pipes as warm air circulates throughout your home. Against your better judgement it can be a good idea to leave water running by turning on any cold water faucets near the exterior walls of your home. During extremely cold days, this will keep the water running and moving through your pipes relieving pressure. According to www.redcross.org Stagnant, motionless water is more susceptible to freezing than running water. As a worst case scenario, if your pipes freeze, give us a call at Mark’s Cleaning Service and we will dry out your home as soon as possible!