From record cold to near-record warmth all within four days, the large temperature swings are bursting more pipes around New England than normal.
Since Thursday, Jacob Hart and his Boston-based SERVPRO team have responded to 50 calls in the three-day span.
"Anytime there is any sort of warm-up or thaw, you get an expansion of the pipes, so the next 24 hours after that pipes start to break," said Hart.
Paul Daniele, the owner of Puritan Flood Restoration in Norwood, Massachusetts, has received a large uptick in calls. His staff has received 150 calls since the first deep freeze and thaw.
"A couple of days ago with the cold spell, Thursday is the next cold spell — it’s been a roller coaster ride," said Daniele.
There is a common problem often times in some of the taller buildings. Most if not all have fire sprinklers. If a sprinkler pipe bursts, the fire department has to turn the water off. If you live in a condo with sprinklers, Daniele recommends that owners have homeowners insurance.
"The condo association does have insurance, but there is a certain percentage that you’re responsible for and I've gone into more floods where they've had no homeowners insurance and they could have up to 10, 15 thousand dollars in damages, which they won’t get covered for," said Daniele.
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In a single family home, some of the worst floods are when there is a burst pipe in the upstairs and the water comes trickling down to the first floor and all the way down to the basement.
The first thing you need to do is go down to your water shut off, which you will usually find in the basement. You can see the pipe coming from the outside of the house and into your house.
There is always a shut off. Give it a turn and that will shut all of the water off coming into your house. This will help prevent further damage.
You should also make sure pipes are insulated, cabinet door kept open and faucets left trickling. These tips will help pipes from bursting in the first place.
