New York

No real Snow ~ but will we have frozen pipes & water damage in Tuckahoe NY 10707 with low temps?

We receive a lot of calls from home and business owners, realtors and media contacts about how to deal with a flooding or water damage, even during winter months. As leaders in fire and water damage cleanup, restoration companies like ours see two and three level water damages from leaking toilets and old pipes that were uninsulated.

Sorry to use the “f” word for frozen pipes again, but snow and freezing temperatures are on the way as this weird winter wanes. Obviously, Winter 2012 HAS come in like a weak little lamb. It feels more like San Francisco than southern New England lately. But, our winterweather could go out like a lion

Meantime, some of us live in older homes with old pipes -- ours is an 1896 colonial near Tuckahoe. So, if the water flowing through an older pipe grows too cold and it's uninsulated, the fluid freezes, the metal can expand and it may "fail." At this time of the year, don't leave your heat on at 55-degrees, especially if you leave for a few days and have a split level home with rooms over a garage or unfinished and unheated basement. Better to pay a little more in heat at 62 to 65-degrees, than come home to a house full of water.

Safety is, of course, the most important issue, if a frozen pipe bursts and water damages your lower, or even upper levels, in a home or business be sure it's NOT sewage water. If contaminated water, or sewage factors are involved, then home and property owners should stay out of the affected area(s). Call a plumber to turn off the water and stop further damage. Then, call a company that handles water damages that may have contaminants and who are water certified with The Clean Trust and well-trained.

Provided that yours or a client’s home is structurally safe, our Servpro of Scarsdale / Mount Vernon recommends several actions that homeowners can take after an incident. They are steps that will help in the cleanup and recovery after a water damage, while waiting wait for help from a reliable plumber and a professional cleanup service.

The following tips can help homeowners save valuable possessions and money, after a water or flood damage. This is particularly important for you to start the process in a large storm situation like our recent Hurricane Irene. Catastrophic damage among millions of homes, firehouses like the ones we cleaned and business throughout Westchester County may mean that you will have to wait for a remediation crew to respond.

Homeowners should:

• Safely turn the home’s water main off if running water inside the house is the source of the problem.
• Remove as much excess water as possible by mopping and blotting.
• Wipe excess water from wood furniture after removal of lamps and tabletop items.
• Remove and prop up wet upholstery and pillow cushions for even drying.
• Place aluminum foil or wood blocks between furniture legs and wet carpeting.
• Turn air conditioning on the maximum drying (in summer).
• Remove Oriental rugs or other fine, colored rugs from wet wall-to-wall carpeting.
• Remove valuable paintings and art objects to a safe, dry place.
• Open and place luggage in sunlight to dry, if possible.
• Gather loose items, toys, etc. from floors.

Homeowners should not:

• Leave wet fabrics in place. Dry fabrics as soon as possible and hang furs and leather goods to dry separately at room temperature.
• Leave books, magazines or other colored items on wet carpets or floors.
• Use your household vacuum to remove water.
• Use televisions or other household appliances while standing on wet carpets of floors, especially not on wet concrete floors.
• Turn on ceiling fixtures if ceiling is wet, and keep out of rooms where ceilings are sagging from retained water.
• If water damage has resulted in exposure to sewage and other harmful waste, we advise you to:
• Stay out of the affected areas.
• Call emergency service personnel if the situation is life-threatening.
• Treat all bodily fluids as if they are contaminated.
• Turn off the HVAC system if there is sewage system damage.

In a sewage damage or flood, with outside water coming in a structure, you do not want to:

• Attempt cleanup of any kind.
• Touch or handle items that might be contaminated with bodily fluids.
• Eat, drink, smoke, apply cosmetics or handle contact lenses in affected areas.

Please note that OSHA recommends a post-exposure medical examination for anyone encountering a hazardous waste problem and suggests contacting your local health department, or a physician. Our crews have Hepatitis-B shots and we take other safety precautions in these water cleanup situations. Complete tips list for both fire and smoke damage and water damage are available at: www.servproofscarsdalemountvernon.com

Founded in 1967, Servpro Industries, Inc. franchise system is a national leader and provider of fire, water, mold and other specialty cleanup and restoration services. SERVPRO's professional services network of more than 1,300 individually owned and operated franchises responds to property damage emergencies ranging from multi-million dollar disasters affecting entire communities to those suffered by individual businesses and homes. Providing coverage in 48 states, SERVPRO^® has established relationships with major insurance companies and commercial clients, as well as individual homeowners. For more information, contact us locally at: (914) 699-5181.

No real Snow ~ but will we have frozen pipes & water damage in Tuckahoe NY 10707 with low temps?

New York Residents..... Have you filled for a STAR exemption on your primary residence?

I have been doing a little research in my neighborhood and found that there are quite a few houses that are not claming a STAR exemption. If you are the owner of a home that is your primary residense and the combined yearly income of the owners and spouse(s) who live there does not exceed $500,000 you should be claiming some relief on your School Tax Bill. Some people it seems are unaware of the savings which can range from around $700 to $900 per year depending on the tax rate in your town. Savings for Senior Citzens under the Enhanced STAR Program are even higher

Information on STAR as quoted from NYState form RP-425 "The New York State School Tax Relief (STAR) Program provides an exemption from school taxes for owner-occupied, primary residences where the combined 2010 income of the owners and spouses who reside on the property does not exceed $500,000. Senior citizens with combined 2010 incomes that do not exceed $79,050 may qualify for a larger “Enhanced” exemption. Senior citizens who wish to continue receiving Enhanced STAR in future years without having to reapply and submit copies of their tax returns to their assessor every year are invited to sign up for the STAR Income Verification Program. Please see Form RP-425-IVP for more information. Seniors who do not choose to enroll in the income verification program must reapply each year to keep the Enhanced exemption in effect. If you are receiving the “Basic” exemption, you usually do not need to reapply in subsequent years, but you must notify the assessor if your primary residence changes and must provide income documentation when requested."

In most areas the deadline for application is March 1st so don't hesitate. How do you know if you have your STAR? Check on your last school tax bill, with your local tax assessor, or you can give me a call and I will check it out for you. I can also give you an idea of the current market value of your home, help you list and sell it, or help you or someone you know search for a new home.

Robert DeFalco Realty

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