Denver Pipes that Freeze and What to do about Freezing pipes in Colorado
Chances are at sometime this winter you will encounter someone you know who has some water damage from a frozen pipe. If you or they choose to handle the water damage, you should first access whether the job may be too big for you to handle. Whether or not you or they call a Water Damage Mitigation company to help is dependent on your perception of the water damage. We will explain only the basics of the process of drying out your property; this should clarify which decision you will make. We do understand that some people choose to handle water damage themselves and that is their choice so I am adding this to protect myself, Disclaimer: We highly recommend that a professional is called as these steps may not cover everything.
Before we begin, 99.9% of water damage that comes from interior pipes is covered by your Homeowners insurance policy. The cost out of your pocket if you turn in a claim and want the property returned to pre-existing condition is your deductible. Usually $500 or $1000, however some are higher. The average water damage to dry out and restore to pre-existing condition is $3500. Ask your Insurance Agent to make sure your covered.
*Caution here: The possibility of electrocution is always a safety issue and steps should be taken before venturing into a water damaged area. Shut off your electrical box outside if there is any concern.
First, a few preventative measures. Makes sure your garden hoses are disconnected, your sprinkler system if not blown out shut it off at the valve and then open up the inside drain, place a bucket under it of course. On really cold nights, open up the cabinet doors under the sinks that adjoin an external wall.
If you have water damage in Denver Metro area the first thing to do is to locate your main shut off valve. This valve is usually in the basement if you have one, utility room if you don’t. Regardless of whether or not you have a water damage you should know where it is located. In the basement, it will come through the concrete and come up to a big pressure regulator. Shut the water off below the pressure regulator. Then if possible find another shut off valve to that particular frozen pipe, there may not be one. If one does not exist, and you need running water, you will have to fix the frozen pipe. A call to a plumber is needed at this point. We have some quality plumbers to refer if you need.
Remove as much furniture as you can and block up the ones you can’t move out of the water damaged area. Block the ones you are moving to a dry area as many pieces of furniture will bleed from the wood stain, dye from wicker baskets and area rugs is always a concern.
Cardboard boxes, clothes and items made from natural materials including drywall will grow mold at a very fast pace. Mildew/Mold begins to grow at 36 hours. Immediate steps should be taken to remove any items from the wet boxes, spread out the items to dry and put clothes into the dryer or take to a cleaner.
If drywall is wet it needs to be dried quickly, it is preferred not to remove it if not necessary. Much of the drywall brought in from Mexico and China has small amounts of asbestos and should be treated as hazardous material. Testing is highly recommended if removal is necessary and if it tests positive, proper procedures should be followed. Most walls abutting the exterior have a vapor barrier, if there is a semigloss paint, the drywall most likely will need to be removed as the moisture cannot escape through the paint. If it is a flat or eggshell the moisture can escape but mold will grow on the backside unless you are using a direct heat system to draw the moisture out.
Wet insulation needs to be removed, it is like a sponge and holds a lot of water. Infared technology can find wet insulation. Professional Water Damage Companies like Flood Masters of Colorado have infared guns and non penetrating moisture meters.
If you have a shop vac you need to begin extraction. Remove the filter and trash from the shop vac before beginning. You should only fill the shop vac up ½ of the way so you can carry it outside to dump. Caution: These tasks are very hard on the back as they are heavy, only light loads as you could have quite a few.
Once you have removed as much water from the carpet as you can, you now need to remove as much water as you can from the padding. A pair of pliers will work as you tug the carpet from the corner to release it. Be cautious as the carpet glue is likely compromised at this point and delamination of the carpeting could be happening, meaning the primary and secondary backing could be separating.
Pull the carpet up slowly off the tackless, roll back ½ of the room and begin to remove as much of the water from the padding as possible. This is an important step, water weight is very heavy and you do not want to carry saturated padding. You will need Contractor Cleanup bags at this point to fill with padding. You can find these at any big franchise hardware store. These are water proof bags and you can carry the bags ¼ to ½ full, do not overload these bags, not because they can’t handle it but because there is a good possibility you will hurt yourself.
Once you have the padding removed roll the carpet back to original position and find a way to prop the carpet up, 2 x 4’s can be used here. Air circulation is a key part of the process; the air needs to move on all sides if possible. Large air movers are available for rent as your household box and oscillating fans are not powerful enough to handle the job.
You will create a lot of vapor pressure or humidity at this point and a dehumidifier will be needed or once the humidity reaches a certain level you can evacuate the vapor pressure out a window. Nothing will dry if vapor pressure is at 100% saturation of air. Constant monitoring will need to happen as you need to mitigate any further damage. Air movement is crucial here, circulating air under the carpeting and around wet items including the walls. Vapor pressure created from the air movement is the humidity, humidity needs to be removed with either a dehumidifier or pushing it with an air mover to an unaffected area of the house/business.
There are calculations that tell how much vapor pressure you create at any given temperature. The higher the temperature with proper air movement, the more vapor pressure. If humidity is not removed, saturation of the air and other items in the room will take place. Condensation on the inside of windows equates to water condensing on the walls and ceiling. The proper heat and humidity level need to be maintained for optimum drying. We like to dry maintaining a temperature within the damaged area at 90-95 degrees. Flood Masters of Colorado can dry most water damages in less than 48 hours using our Direct Heat Technology Thermal Energy System-TES.
Antimicrobials designed for water damage should be used on the carpeting before the drying process begins, this will inhibit any mold growth. If no antimicrobials are used any fowl odors noted after a day or two of drying will be from mildew/mold growth.
If you have a wood subfloor in the basement you should have a crawlspace. It is necessary to check throughout the crawlspace for any moisture. Stagnate water damage in a crawlspace will grow mold on the floor joists and under the subfloor. Removing the water, drying, evacuating the vapor pressure even if we are talking about a dirt crawlspace is of importance. It won’t just dry out by itself.
Laminate flooring will need to be removed as it will not dry and the damage is permanent.
Wood flooring on a concrete floor will need to be removed. Wood flooring on a wood subfloor can be dried providing that it has not buckled. Buckling is different than cupping, cupping is when the edges come up and the floor is rough. Buckling is when the nails have come out of the subfloor and the wood floor has heaved upwards.
Tile or stone flooring will dry out eventually however some mortars if not properly mixed will give way to the moisture and tiles will begin to come loose. Tile or stone flooring on a wood subfloor with a backer board can be dried. Flood Masters of Colorado has had some good success in drying these floors saving from having to replace the whole floor. (not all can be saved).
Some baseboards may survive, especially the hard woods. The baseboards made of MDF may swell and need to be removed. If you cannot get it dry in 3 days the baseboards should have come off as mold will have begun to grow behind them. Any vinyl base cove will need to be removed as the moisture cannot escape from the drywall or wood to reach the drier air in the room.
Heat is an essential part of the drying process. Direct heat to the wet materials, much like the hot air directly to the clothes in your clothes dryer is accomplished by using a Thermal Energy System known as TES. This Direct heat units run off of 220v or 110v. Flood Masters of Colorado also has a TES Hydronic 250 BTU Boiler than can dry up to 1200sq ft. Most water damages utilizing the Direct Heat System-TES are dry in as little as 48 hours. Tile and wood floors always take 3-5 days to return to the original moisture content of the home when using TES. Standard air movers will take 3-5 days to dry drywall and carpeting/subfloors. If the proper amount of equipment is not used it could take you a week or longer.
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