Coming Home from Vacation to Water Damage

2/26/2019 (Permalink)

The last thing that is on your mind when you’re on a vacation away from the Texas panhandle is whether a burst pipe has created a flood in your home. This can cause damage to not only your house, but all of your personal belongings as well. The best scenario is to prevent the situation from occurring, so that you will not need to come home from a relaxing getaway to such stressful and inconvenient events.

Prevention

Prevention is key; burst and broken pipes can be very expensive and/or difficult to fix. We may think that “it will never happen to us,” but there is no such thing as being too precautious! If you’re planning to be out of town for an extended amount of time, especially during the harsher winter months, there are several steps you can take to prevent your home from being flooded: • Don’t turn down the heat too far. Leaving the heat on and at an adequate temperature, even if it is slightly lower than usual, can keep your home warm enough to prevent the pipes from freezing and bursting. Leave closet and bedroom doors open to allow full circulation throughout the home as well.

• Leave the faucets slightly open for water to flow. The water doesn’t have to be left running fully. If you allow the faucet to at least drip, this helps relieve the pressure in your water system, which possibly eliminates water pipe repair.
• Insulate your pipes. If you wrap your exposed pipes with towels, blankets, or other insulating materials, it provides extra protection from the cold.

Watch Your Home While Away

If you’re going to be away from home for several days, especially during the winter, it would be a great idea to have a family member, neighbor, or friend check on the home periodically. You may have them ensure that there are no frozen pipes or flooding, that the thermostat is working, the house is at a decent temperature, warm air is circulating throughout the home properly, and that the faucets are still dripping water. Another great idea is to use video cameras that you can view and access from your smartphone, tablet, or computer to personally check on the home. This won’t necessarily prevent a pipe from freezing and bursting, but it can allow you to at least get a professional there to do a water pipe repair sooner, which will prevent further damage to your home.