Your water bill might be going through the roof because your pipes are damaged. It isn’t because vandals broke in your home when you were on vacation and used your bathtub, now is it? Your favorite bath oils are still as full as you left them and the bathroom was dry as a bone.
Damaged pipes are a pain for any homeowner. They let water into places where you do not want it to be, like your wall, expensive wooden flooring and even behind the switchboards in your child’s nursery. Here is how the pipes can get damaged.
On the Freeze
Pipes can burst during the cold winter months, especially if the temperature drops well below freezing. Water molecules expand as they freeze. Once the ice inside a pipe expands to the nearest faucet the pressure might cause the pipe to burst. These are usually pipes that are located outside a building or in unheated areas such as your home’s basement, crawl spaces or the attic. Insulating such pipes with fiberglass or foam might prevent them from bursting in the first place. However, if there are already damaged you might need to repair or replace them before your finances suffer from it. You can’t close the main water valve forever. Your family needs water and the sooner you take care of the problem, the better off will you be.
Old Pipes
Pipes rust with age and corrode due to water chemistry. Once they start to age leaks and cracks are inevitable. The water has no place to go but out. The result is usually in the form of damp walls and a water bill that seems to increase a few digits every month even though your water usage is consistent.
Your insurance policy may cover damage from leaks. Frozen pipes aren’t your fault. However, your insurance company will be less than forthcoming if they find out that you let the problem persist without even trying to do anything about it. Loopholes in your policy might not require your insurance company to cover such damages at all. Your best bet is to fix the problem before the damage goes out of hand and bloats your water bill any further.