5 Steps to Take After A Frozen Pipe Burst
2/13/2023 (Permalink)
A frozen pipe burst can be a nightmare, but it's not the end of the world. Here are five steps you can take to mitigate the damage and get things back in order.
Turn Off the Main Water Valve
To prevent more water from spilling out into your home, it is important to turn off the main water valve. If you don't know where your home's main water valve is, call a professional for help as quickly as possible.
Turn off each individual faucet and drain in your house, as well as any appliances that rely on water—like dishwashers and washing machines. You may also want to consider turning off or unplugging anything that relies on electricity, like televisions and lamps.
Remove the Water
If the leak isn't too severe, try to remove the water from your home. Removing any moisture can prevent secondary damage from occurring on your property. However, in many cases with frozen pipe bursts, the amount of water present is too much for the average person to remove without the proper equipment. In these cases, it is best to call a professional water mitigation expert as quickly as possible.
Waiting to call a professional can result in further damage to your property, so make sure you call someone as soon as you notice the pipe burst has occurred.
Document the Damage
The next thing you should do is get your camera out and take as many photos of the damage as possible. This will be helpful when it comes time to file a claim with your insurance company because it'll give them an idea of how much money they'll have to pay out on your behalf.
You'll want to take pictures of anything that was damaged by the burst pipe—including walls, furniture, personal items like clothing and electronics, and even small things like photographs or decorations on shelves that may have gotten wet.
It is also important to take photos of the cleanup process. These pictures will serve as evidence if there are any disputes.
When working with a mitigation and restoration company such as SERVPRO of Northwest San Antonio, they will take care of all of this for you and will extensively document everything from start to finish.
Call Your Insurance Company
As soon as possible after a pipe burst, contact your insurance agent to file a claim and start the claims process. The insurance company will want to know the extent of the damage and any other information that may be helpful in processing your claim.
Call a Disaster Cleaning and Restoration Company
The most important thing you should do after a frozen pipe burst is to call our SERVPRO of Northwest San Antonio team for help. Our team is the leading provider of restoration services in the San Antonio area, so you can be sure that we will take care of your property and get it back to normal as quickly as possible. Our team will come in and assess the damage, determine what needs to be cleaned up, and take care of all mitigation and restoration-related tasks for you.
We hope this blog post has given you the information that you need to deal with a frozen pipe burst. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact our team of experts today!