What Is the Best Way for Chicago Homeowners to Avoid Frozen Pipes and Ice Damming?

12/1/2021 (Permalink)

To prevent ice dams and icicles from damaging your Chicago home--follow SERVPRO'S Tips!

SERVPRO Brings Fast, Professional Restoration Services for This Type of Water Damage to Chicago Properties

When someone thinks of winter weather, the first things that come to mind might be snow, wind, and slippery roads to tread carefully upon. However, another hazard that is frequently an issue in the Chicago area is frozen pipes and ice dams.

A homeowner that takes a little time to winterize their residential property can often avoid frozen pipes and ice dams in their Chicago house. SERVPRO has some tips to help local area property owners prevent this costly situation.

Tips for Avoiding Frozen Pipes

Most frozen pipes start with faucets outside the home, with lines running into the house through cold areas such as basements, attics, garages, or crawlspaces. Understanding how frozen pipes burst within a home can help avoid the situation. While an iced-over outdoor faucet can burst, the real issue is the water in the line. The backflow of the pressure between the water source and the ice is now blocking the pipe. As the ice expands, it pushes the line and pressure to its limit, resulting in a big, wet mess.

• Homeowners should drain all sprinkler systems, swimming pool lines, and outside faucets
• Place hose socks over outdoor spigots
• Let the water drop from faucets in basements that are not climate controlled
• Open cabinets in kitchens and bathrooms to allow warm interior air to circulate around the pipes

Avoiding Ice Dams

While they can be a major issue, ice dams are not commonly known to homeowners with sufficiently insulated attics. Heat escaping from the living quarters can warm the interior sheathing of the roof resulting in melting. This hazardous situation occurs when snow on a roof melts but cannot flow into the gutters due to ice over the gutters. The backup flows under the shingles and into the interior of the home. This action can also cause the shingles or gutters to detach and fall off the structure. Icicles can be an early warning sign of an ice dam formation. Homeowners should look for signs of water damage along the exterior walls and ceilings to catch the problem head-on and bring in SERVPRO to handle the cleanup and restoration.

SERVPRO of Marquette Park / West Lawn / Ford City at (773) 337-3993 supports the local Chicago community for help after frozen pipes and ice damming occurs.