In case you have owned a new home then you might not know about the damages that could be caused by a burst water pipe
. A new homeowner generally does not bother about such problems till it converts into a much bigger problem.
If the water pipes in your house are not insulated properly then they can easily freeze in winters (when temperature drops below 20 degrees). A crack that is just one-eighth of an inch can also allow over 250 gallons of water each day. This will result in damaging your floors, clothes, carpet and personal items.
If you will not get these damages repaired then it can make you and your whole family sick over time. At this time, insurance policies can help you a lot. However, they do not solve the problem of molds but they solve the problem of water damage.
If water damage is covered in your home insurance then the problem of mold can be tackled to a great extent. However, the growth of mold can be caused because of many water damaging things but bursting of frozen pipe is one cause that can be prevented.
During winters, you need to take some precautions like you should cover your water pipes with insulators or try to pass warm air through your pipes during a deep freeze. This can be done by opening the cabinets under your kitchen or bathroom sinks and placing a space heater in the room.
If you are using space heaters then you need to take care of some things like do not leave it unattended for long time, do not put it near around a source of fire (put it at least 5 feet away) and never use extension cords with space heaters. You need to make sure that you are using space heater will all the precautions else it might result in fire damage.
You need to disconnect all the garden hoses and seal all the cracks in your home's foundation to prevent cool air, water and snow to get inside your pipes.
Keeping a small bit of water running through hot and cold water faucets can also mean the difference between a busted and un-busted pipe.