Broken Pipe Leaks Damage and Restoration

FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2021

Though pipe leaks happen mostly during winter, it can also happen almost every day. You never know when your pipes may give in, and since you don't see them - several days (or weeks) may pass until you realize you have a leak. In some cases, you won't know until you see your water bill - which will account for hundreds of gallons of water which you didn't use, but are damaging your property.

Ongoing Water damage caused by pipe leaks is not only costly due to the water bill, it will also be very expensive to restore.

The pipes may burst for several reasons:

Temperature changes - when the temperature changes drastically in a short time, the pipes may give in to water expanding and shrinking inside, causing them to burst and leak.
Poor insulation - if the weather is cold, and your pipes are not insulated well (whether because they're on your outer walls or in an unheated crawl space) they will be affected by the cold temperature, especially when they reach the warm space that is your home.
Old pipes - if the pipes haven't been replaced for many years, they may just break. It happens, and you should hope you'll know as soon as it happens and before it creates more serious issues.
Freezing pipes - happens in really cold places. Water expands when it freezes, and that means that if the water has nowhere to go - the pressure would be hard on the pipes and they would give. If you forgot to leave a faucet dripping during the extra cold days, be ready for the consequences.

What do you do now that you found the leaking pipes?

First of all, close the water mains. Head over to the main water valve, shut it down so no more water comes in to your property. After you do that, call a plumber. You'd want to go back to routine, and stopping the water from flowing is the most important thing. If you believe you suffered damage to your property, it's important to also call a water damage restoration company who are well familiar with repairing water damage from leaky pipes.

The water damage restoration company would be able to check your property, see if there is any long term damage that should be repaired, assess if there are any health hazards caused by the water leak, and also restore your property if the property was damaged by the water. In addition, they would be able to extract all the water from places it is not supposed to be in, and help you dry your home quickly by using air movers and commercial dryers used for water damage restoration.

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