Frozen Pipe Damage at Your Business

Frozen pipes can cause severe property damage and are one of the most common reasons people file property damage claims. Due to the excessive pressure that frozen water can put on pipes, it very commonly causes them to burst. Burst pipes can lead to flooding and many other types of water damage to your business, which is not only a safety hazard but also becomes expensive to fix. 

Winter power outages can increase the risk of frozen pipes, especially if you have a sprinkler system. If the power remains out for too long, the water in the sprinklers can freeze. This can cause a chain reaction that leads to the rest of your piping freezing over. Once the pipes freeze, they can crack and break, creating multiple leaks that can lead to serious water damage. If left unaddressed, persistent water damage can lead to mold, mildew, and other problems. Frozen pipes can also cause your fire prevention system to stop operating, increasing the risk of fire damage to your commercial building. 

At AdvantaClean, we know that it’s best to prevent frozen pipes and water damage before they happen, so below are a few things you could do to reduce the risk of this happening to your commercial property. 

Make Sure You Insulate Everything

Since frozen pipes are a result of exposure to extreme cold weather in winter, correctly insulating them can prevent the issue entirely. You can also leave your spigot on in a slow stream because moving water doesn’t freeze as easily. However, even if you keep the faucet on, the pipes will eventually freeze if the temperature drops low enough. 

That’s why you should install adequate insulation on all of your pipes and make sure that your commercial building is correctly insulated. Make sure to keep the areas around your pipes well-protected to stop cold winter temperatures from seeping in. Try to locate any places within your facility that could use a bit more insulation before problems develop. 

Have a Reliable Source of Backup Power

While your heating system may be able to keep winter’s frigid temperatures at bay, it won’t do any good if the power goes out in your commercial property. It’s always easier to prevent frozen pipes than to thaw them afterward. The colder it gets, the less time you have before problems occur.

By investing in a commercial standby generator or a UPS (uninterrupted power supply), you can ensure that even if the power goes out, you can still use your heating system and other electrically powered equipment. This will make your pipes less susceptible to freezing and could spare you costly winter water damage. 

Monitor the Temperature

Freezing weather can quickly affect the temperatures inside your commercial building. If the temperature in your office, warehouse, or retail space gets too low, your water pipes will be in danger. It’s especially important for warehouses, storage areas, and remote parts of the building not to fall under the radar. If you don’t have a way to monitor the indoor temperature in these areas, you may be caught unaware and not know that your pipes are in danger. 

You can invest in some temperature monitoring equipment to alert you to your building’s temperature. A temperature monitoring or heat tracing system tracks the building’s temperature across time, and you can set it up to notify you about significant changes. This will give you time to warm the area and address the problem before it gets too bad.  

Drain any Unnecessary Pipes 

When extreme cold weather occurs, it’s best to check on pipes near the exterior of the building first. Use as few of these water pipes as possible and drain all water from the ones you don’t need so they won’t be susceptible to freezing, cracking, leaking, or bursting. 

If pipes remain unused for long periods in winter, it’s not uncommon for them to burst. When this occurs, they can cause flooding, severe water damage, and create a perfect breeding ground for mold. All of these things can present safety hazards for your business, workers, and customers, and need to be fixed immediately. 

What to do When your Commercial Pipes Freeze 

Unfortunately, frozen pipes aren’t something that one person can easily handle, especially if they aren’t a professional. The same goes for the results of broken pipes, like flooding and water damage. Don’t waste any time – call a team of professionals like the ones at AdvantaClean as soon as possible to prevent further damage. 

AdvantaClean has the tools, experience, and equipment to get the job done, any time of day or night. Water damage and flood restoration are just two of our many specialties. Whether you need fire or water damage repairs, mold remediation, or natural disaster cleanup, AdvantaClean is here to help. Contact us today!