Water Damage Restoration During Winter In Maine

The Ice Storm of '98 is still fresh in the memories of many residents in Maine. It was during January of 1998 when the people of Maine woke up with the cracking sound of breaking trees, the whole state covered in snow, and totally no electricity that households can use. It took more than two weeks for restoration work to complete and have electricity back on. Damage to trees was still visible even after many years. In some homes, water pipes eventually burst causing water damage to their homes that required considerable restoration work.




After 10 years, the memory still lingers in the hearts and minds of many Maine residents that every year during winter people tend to take extra precaution and store up food, water, clothing and everything they need for fear of getting holed up again without electricity. Remembering the tedious restoration work that they have performed, residents would also take the extra precaution and winterize their homes.


The main bulk in winterizing homes is on protecting water pipes. Restoration companies in Maine would offer several good advices on how to winterize the home. Similar programs are also being implemented by the state government.




The most important factor is to insulate the pipe from the outside climactic condition. This should be done before temperatures drop considerably which would make insulation work much more difficult. The pipes should be checked for any possible leaks that could cause the pipes to freeze faster. Restoration companies in Maine would use industrial heat tapes or thermal insulating foams to cover the entire length of the pipes. This can be bought from hardware shops but would cost the homeowner a little extra. If the homeowner is financially challenged at this time, old newspapers could be used as insulation instead. Several layers of these old newspapers should be wrapped around the pipes. The layers should then be covered with a final layer of plastic wrapping to keep moisture out. This insulation work applies to all water pipes in the house including those leading to appliances.




If the Maine homeowner is planning to head south for the winter, leaving their home to the elements, it would be best to shut down all water and gas supplies from the source to avoid major restoration work later on. This would be a good precautionary action should the insulation job performed earlier not work out well causing the house to still end up with a burst pipe. The homeowners should also ask someone to check on their homes while they are away.




However, most Maine homeowners would rather stay in their homes during winter. To prevent water damage and the consequent restoration work, homeowners should regularly check on their pipes and other household items. Homeowners should maintain good heating not lower than 55 degrees F. When the temperature continues to drop outside it would be best to increase the inside temperature to a higher level then let the warm air reach the location of the pipes by opening cabinet doors.




Before sleeping, homeowners should allow some water to trickle from an outside faucet to create some running movement in the water inside the pipes. Stagnant water is prone to freezing so a little movement could help prevent this from happening.




These simple precautionary methods can be used by Maine homeowners, particularly those anticipating a colder winter for this year. These are simple steps but could go a long way and prevent time-consuming and often costly restoration work.

Samson Paulotti reports on issues affecting homeowners for Maine Restoration and The Restoration Resource Maine

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