3 Ways You Can Protect Your Home From Water Damage This Winter

It’s cold outside, a little too cold for some of us.  Even warm Texas is getting snow and ice.  Now a good old fashioned snow day might be fun for the kids, but if you're not prepared before and after the snow falls you could be in for a treat.  Now snow is just water in a different form and once it's melted you get a slushy mess or worse a moldy mess inside your home.   

There are three main ways that water from snow can ruin your spring plans.  Frozen pipes, ice dams, and ground snow melt.  Luckily, there are ways to deal with each one.  

Frozen Pipes

With frozen pipes you will want to make sure your heat is in good  working order.  Even if you keep your heat lower make sure it comes on when the temperature of the house reaches a certain point.  Make sure basements, bathrooms, and kitchens have ample heat as that is where a majority of your plumbing is located.  Properly insulating and heating pipes especially in your crawl space and basement should be a priority to prevent them from bursting, leaving you with a flooded home.  If you have a vacation home make sure you have the heat set up and that you even hire a caretaker to check up every once in a while.

Ice Dams

Ice dams are another culprit to winter weather.  As snow falls on your roof and melts it runs off into the gutter.  If the gutter is clogged or water refreezes it can prevent further snow from running off the roof and lead to a leaky roof or worse a collapsed roof.  If snow continues to pile up on the roof it becomes heavy and can bust a roof.  

One solution is to keep attics ventilated and not too warm as that will melt the snow faster and lead to the water refreezing on the cooler, lower ends of the roof.  

Ground Thaw

Lastly, ground thaw can lead to unsettling the foundation.  It’s best  shoveled after each snowfall and keep it away from the side of your house.  That last thing you want is to have not only your roof compromised, but also your foundation.  Keeping snow cleared from your home can do a lot of good to keep it safe from leaks.  If you are unable to keep your roof of yard clear there are many professionals who can help.  

Now what if you have a water leak and there is standing water in your basement or even in a bed room. You will want to deal with it as soon as possible.  Turning off water, starting the drying process and removing items from the area.  If you are not sure how to assess the damage contact your local restoration company and they can give you moisture readings and make a plan to dry out and repair the damage.   If any furniture and items need to be moved or stored a home inventory crew can document everything for you, pack it up, and store it so you can repair the damage quicker.