Snow ~ can it be true and will we have frozen pipes and water damage in Tuckahoe NY 10707

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?