Pipes Can Cause Major Water Damage Cleanup Costs

Here in Wisconsin, we must be diligent about protecting pipes from freezing weather. But many of our neighbors in Waukesha suffer from burst pipes during moderate weather, too. And if your pipes leak within your home, you need to have a professional water damage cleanup crew on your team to make your home safe and clean again. 

Even underground water pipes are not exempted from rupturing when the heat gets extreme. More commonly though, burst pipes are usually a result of plumbing problems and aging homes. From the professionals at A&J Restores, here are a few things that pipes can do that can cause some serious water damage cleanup problems. 

Water Damage Cleanup In Waukesha, WI 

Excessive Water Pressure  

Maintaining normal pressure is vital for your supply pipes to function properly. A significant increase becomes too much for your pipes to handle; they expand, leading to burst pipes or broken fixtures. If you suspect your pressure is too high, a plumber can install a pressure reducing valve to adjust it down to safer levels.

Increased Water Demand

Hot and dry weather calls for a little more water use in the home and a lot more water use in the lawn and garden. With a higher than normal water demand, your damaged water pipes have even more opportunity to dail. Aging, rusting, or a general poor condition can lead to a leak somewhere in the line, or worse, they may burst completely.

Pipe Movement 

Sometimes movement comes from an aging home, sometimes it is a result of poor construction. If the pipes themselves aren’t properly secured to the structure, they can sometimes move around inside the walls whenever water is suddenly turned on or off. Whenever you’ve heard pipes clanging inside walls or floors, that is “water hammer.” The back and forth movement gradually weakens joints until one fails which allows pressurized water to escape the pipe. 

Corrosion 

Plumbing systems are meant to last a long time and the vast majority of them provide many decades of reliable service. However, that doesn’t mean that materials last indefinitely. Sometimes years of slow building corrosion will cause a pipe to fail. Corrosion can be caused by a pH imbalance in the water, which damages over time. 

If you have hard water and your lines are made of galvanized iron, the minerals inside the water slowly wear down the galvanized coating (which itself can cause dangerous lead poisoning) and expose the iron pipe beneath. In time, the iron turns to rust (iron oxide) and gradually narrows the diameter so that water can barely get through. Your pipe may rupture or it may just close itself off and prohibit flow altogether.

A&J Property Restoration is a full-service restoration company for both residential and commercial properties. Call us on your worst day: especially if you have an emergency with water damage cleanup

Our restoration experts are trained to handle restoration projects around people with chronic illnesses, the elderly, and children. We have extensive experience working in critical and controlled environments like hospitals, schools, and government buildings.