Real Estate in Denver and the Suburbs

It is so cold here today in Denver.  What happened to the 48 Degrees we had on Tuesday?  Today's high only reached about 28 degrees, but to me it felt even colder than that.  The night time temps have plunged even lower.  

This morning my garage door was frozen shut.  Apparently some of yesterday's snow melted off of our cars, and then froze the door shut.   That's all set now though, easy fix.

Something not so easy to fix and much more serious is the threat of frozen pipes to Denver Homes.  There is no doubt in my mind that come the thaw, proably next week, the big story on the news will be the burst pipes all over town.  Sadly, its generally a feature story after an Arctic blast like this.  I can tell you from experience - this is not a fun thing to experience.  Yours truly was even a victim of burst pipes from a freeze.  And this can be a threat to anyone - whether this is your first winter here in Denver or your a seasoned veteran, make sure you have taken necessary steps to make sure your pipes are not freezing or bursting.  I certainly am not a plumbing expert, but here are a few tips I have learned over the years from my own plumber to help keep my own house from the trauma of frozen pipes.  If you have any questions about preventing freezing pipe, I highly suggest calling a Master Plumber. 

First, before the freeze even happens, make sure your home & pipes are winterized.  Wrap any exposed pipes and make sure any areas of your home that leak in air are caulked and insulated.  My own plumber recommends pipes sleeves that can be bought at Home Depot, rather than just wrapping & taping with blankets.   Checking the caulking the area where my pipes enter my home is something I now do every fall.  In addition, I amke sure that my garden hoses are disconnected from the house pipes.   

If it gets REALLY cold and you have faucets along an outside wall, an extra precaution is to leave you under sink doors to the cabinets open so that the heated air from your home will help keep those pipes warm and from freezing.   

If you are going to be gone for an extended period of time during an Arctic blast, you will want to take even further precautions to protect your home against freezing and bursting pipes.  Some people swear by leaving one faucet open to a very low trickle.   Personally, I have not tried that.  Its also important to remember not to turn your thermostat down too low when you are gone.  You may also want to consider turning you main water off completely so if they do freeze and burst, the only water that will come out is what is already in the pipes.  Make sure you arrange for someone to check on your home.  If your home is listed with a REALTOR and vacant, discuss prior with your REALTOR if they will be willing to check on your home regularly.  I personally have checked on numerous homes over the years on the coldest of days, just to be sure all is well.

I also want to point out that it is important that everyone in your home know where the water shut off is and how to do it.   Let's just say that when my own pipes burst my wife was home alone and she had a little trouble getting it off.  We'll leave it at that.  

If you do have a frozen pipe, my own plumber has told me that you can heat it gently with a hair dryer but he did caution me to never use a blow torch.  I don't think I would ever have thought of that, but apparently its a common and very dangerous thought.

And if the worst of the worst does happen, follow the proper steps for clean-up.  Ruined materials will quickly mold, even in dry Denver and that is not something you want to deal with down the road.  And before you pick up the phone to make an insurance claim, really consider the amount of damage you have and if you want o make a claim.  It is getting harder and harder to insure homes with water damage and your disclosures and a CLUE report will reveal this to all future home buyers.  

Stay Warm, keep your pipes warm and don't worry - it will be warm by next week (I hope!).  That's just the way Colorado is! 

Do you have any other tips to keep pipes from freezing &  bursting?  If so, feel free to add them in the comments below.