DON'T turn down the thermostat when you leave home!

11/10/2021 (Permalink)

Water damage from a broken pipe

Cold weather is right around the corner. Can you feel it in the air?

Some people turn down the thermostat in their homes to save money while they are away on vacation, business trips or maybe a long weekend get-away.

However, turning down the thermostat while away from home in winter can cause pipes to freeze and burst. The temperature inside wall cavities and within cabinets where you have water pipes may be colder, in fact much colder than where the thermostat is. This might not be a problem when you have the thermostat set at 68 degrees. However, if you turn down your thermostat to say 50 degrees, those cold areas of your home might drop in temperature far enough to cause pipes to freeze.

When pipes break, the damage can be extensive, especially if you are away from home for a while. Imagine how wet things will get in your home if you were to open a faucet and let it run with the drain closed for a couple of days. Having a pipe break will have the same effect. This homeowner found out the hard way.

This house had quite a bit of damage when the homeowner returned. Small uncaulked openings in the exterior wall allowed super cold winter air to get inside the ceiling and freezing a large water line.

Luckily SERVPRO of Elgin was there to help them get back in their home quickly!

SERVPRO of Elgin, 847.697.8500 is there when you need experienced professionals to solve your problems!!