Omaha winter is coming, and you know what that means—temperatures swing down to subzero, sometimes in what seems like the blink of an eye, and can stay there for weeks or months. During these lengthy cold snaps, conditions are ripe for your household pipes to freeze and burst, which can give you a major clean-up headache when all you want to do is cozy up by the fire. When you discover a burst pipe in your house, it’s best to leave the water damage clean-up to the professionals, someone like Restoration Now!.

At Restoration Now! Omaha, we recognize the importance of a speedy property restoration process, especially with the winter weather being what it is. Any delay in starting restoration can result in further property damage, including possible structural damage to your home, which is why our property restoration specialists at Restoration Now! will work quickly and efficiently to remove all excess water and, with sophisticated drying techniques, restore your home to its original state quickly.

Of course it’s our hope that you’ll be able to avoid this kind of situation and all the problems it brings with it. To that end, here are some preventative maintenance tips that we at Restoration Now! Omaha believe make it less likely your pipes will freeze in the first place!

Before Winter Sets In, Check Exposed Pipes

Check your basement or crawlspaces for exposed pipes. If there are any, wrap them in pipe insulation. This product can be found at any hardware store and is relatively inexpensive. Best of all, this preventative measure is really easy for anyone to do on their own.

Turn Off Outside Faucets

An important winter maintenance step that many people overlook is draining and turning off outside water faucets. Most outside faucets are connected to pipes that run through exterior walls, and this makes them especially prone to freezing. Luckily this is another simple process. To do it, turn off the water supply valve in your house, then go outside and open the faucet. Once all the water is drained from the pipe, shut off the faucet.

During the Cold Snap, Focus on Exterior Wall Faucets

• If any of your sinks are on an exterior wall, open the cabinet beneath (if there is one) to allow warm air from the house to surround the pipes and keep them from freezing.
• If there are any sinks you don’t use often that happen to be on an exterior wall, make a habit of turning on the faucet to a slow trickle every so often, because moving water takes much longer to freeze than stationary water.
• If one of your faucets does freeze, slowly trickling water through your other faucets will help relieve the building pressure and minimize the chance that the frozen pipe will burst.

Contact Restoration Now! Omaha at (402) 502-7277, Your Local Water Damage Restoration Specialist

Hopefully these tips will help you avoid the property damage and stress that a frozen and ruptured pipe can cause, but if you find yourself in that worst-case situation, you can rely on our Omaha Restoration Now! to clean up and restore your home in a timely and professional manner. We offer 24/7 emergency restoration service, so contact us today at (402) 502-7277 to get started putting things back where they belong!