WaterCop Has Your Back – Flood Prevention

Recently, one of our industry partners decided get on the flood prevention train and install a WaterCop Pro Series automatic water shut-off valve. After the installation was complete and the system operational, he was inspired to blog about how cool the system is.

So that’s where we come in. Since he did such a great job writing the blog, it doesn’t make sense for us to try and report on what he said, rather we’ll just post it up for him. So, please enjoy the following blog written by our friend Mark from Disaster Restoration Services.

Please click here to read the original blog posting in its entirety.

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Fun Fact of the Week: Water Pressure

This week McAdams Plumbing is going to discuss how water pressure can wreck havoc on your home. Got your attention? Good.

Dishwasher Flood Damage

Let’s talk numbers.

A waterline failure at 70 pounds of pressure can discharge around 650 gallons of water in an hour. That’s enough to fill an 8′ x 30″ pool! So what happens if you’re at work or out of town? That water just keeps flowing all through your home. We talked before about how destructive water can be. You can bet it will ruin floors, walls, possessions, and pretty much anything else available.

Washing Machine Waterlines

So what kind of fixtures in your home carry this kind of pressure? All of them. From your ice machine maker to your toilet supply, even your washing machine hose, they all carry the same pressure. The water in your home works in what’s called a “closed system,’ so all of your appliances and fixtures that have water running to them carry the same pressure.

So what can you do? Simply monitor your water lines. Look for signs of wear like cracks or minor leaks. If you see these make sure you replace the lines right away. For appliances like washing machines, the hoses are made from reinforced rubber, so it’s recommended that you replace them every 3-5 years due to wear.

It also never hurts to invest in a product like the WaterCop Automatic Water Shut-Off Valve. This device works remotely to shut off the incoming water supply to your home if water leaks are detected. MP is a big fan of this product so you can find information about it on our main website.

Hope you enjoyed today’s blog. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions for future topics please use the “Leave a Reply” space below. The Proof is in the Plumbing!

-MP

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Beware of Water Damage!

Water damage is can happen to anyone, at anytime. Water, as you probably know, is the most destructive force on Earth! It can carve valleys and move mountains. It can also collapse the ceiling in your home and destroy all your floors.  3 cubic feet of water weighs roughly 1,700 pounds, that’s as much as a Smart Car or an average Plains Bison. For that reason McAdams Plumbing wants to continue to push the point that during the cold winter months you must be careful to avoid freeze break in your pipes.

Since December of 2012 McAdams Plumbing has been called out to 31 calls for leaks related to freezes. Most of them were caught swiftly and (relatively) little damage was seen. But some of the others were not so lucky. This blog is going to highlight what happened to one of our “not so lucky” friends in Longmont.

What you see above is 4 separate water lines that froze, then burst in an unoccupied home in Longmont. Now this event was no fault of the owners. This was a home he owned and was remodeling one floor at a time. While he was away from the home for a week the furnace failed and afterward, with the very low temperatures outside, the house began to freeze. When the pipes burst (almost all in different locations) water began filling the home. I wish I could say it happened slowly but it did not.

All in all, 180,000 gallons (no, that is not a typo) of water flooded 2 stories of this 3 story home. If we follow the math that says every gallon of water weighs 8.34 lb., then this house withstood (over time) 1,501,200 lb. of water! That’s just an amazing.

This is why we always remind everyone we can to leave the heat in their home at no less than 62*F at all times and to insulate pipes that are on outer walls or exposed directly/indirectly to freezing temperatures. In cases like this one though, even those measures weren’t enough. You just can’t anticipate a furnace failing. That’s why we so strongly recommend the addition of a WaterCop Automatic Water Shut-Off Valve to any home that you claim ownership on. A little money out of pocket in advance could save you several thousand dollars in the future.

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WaterCop is one of McAdams Plumbing’s favorite devices to install. Not because it’s an easy in and out, but actually because it is a great product! You can find information about WaterCop under both the WaterCop Shutoff and Leak Management pages of our website. You can also learn all about the installation and use of the WaterCop system in our process video below!

Why do we have so much information on our site about this product? Well that’s an easy answer: because it WORKS! DynaQuip is an outstanding company with awesome customer service and a great business record. We fully trust them and they trust McAdams Plumbing enough to make us certified WaterCop installers.

If those 2 pages and that video weren’t enough to get you interested in WaterCop, how about this:

From January 1, 2013 through March 31, 2013 MP will offer you a WaterCop Automatic Water Shut-Off Valve + Installation for only $1,025.00! That’s a savings of over $400.00!

Ok, I don’t think I can do much more than that to catch your attention. Hopefully you like what you saw and read here. Please contact McAdams Plumbing at 303-465-1900 for scheduling or any further questions.

Thanks for your time!

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One thing any Coloradan knows is that the winters here can be very, very cold. While this is one of the reasons most of us love Colorado (winter = ski/snowboard season!) we must also be sure we prepare our homes for the low temperatures.

Frozen Pipes

One of the largest concerns during the winter is frozen pipes. Non-insulated pipes within exterior walls or in crawl spaces can freeze during days with sub-freezing temperatures. As you may know when water freezes it expands. This expansion presses against the walls of the pipes and if it continues the pipes may burst! This bursting can allow hundreds of gallons of water into your home, causing severe damage to walls, carpets, ceiling, etc.

Avoiding Frozen Pipes

In order to avoid frozen pipes in the winter be sure that all of your exposed waterlines are properly insulated before temperatures drop. Types of insulation you can use include heat tape, foam rubber sleeves, or fiberglass insulation in either roll or sheet form. Also, make sure all garden hoses are detached and sprinkler systems are turned off and blown out. If you are concerned about freezing being a problem and would like to have a professional inspect your home and get it prepared for winter we would be happy to come out and take a look. Just give us a call at 303-465-1900.

In order to prevent any pipes from freezing inside of the home McAdams Plumbing recommends that you leave the thermostat at no less than 62*F. This is especially important if you are going out of town, say for holiday travel.

WaterCop

McAdams Plumbing does offer another defense against pipe bursting, it’s called the WaterCop Automatic Water Shutoff System. This amazing little device attaches to your main water supply which receives a signal from strategically placed sensors to monitor for signs of water. If these sensors do detect water they send a wireless signal to the WaterCop unit which then shuts off the water supply to the home! Talk about flood deterrence! McAdams Plumbing is a licensed installer of WaterCop and if you mention this blog post we’ll install a unit in your home with sensors for only $995.00 (this price does not include service fee, permits, or requirements). Some insurance agencies even offer a discount if you install a WaterCop in your home, so be sure to contact your provider and see if you qualify! More information about WaterCop can be found here.

What if I Have a Broken Pipe?

If you have a pipe that has burst, immediately cut off the main water supply. This will prevent the water from continuing to gush out into your home. Once it’s been shut off immediately call your preferred plumbing service provider to set up an appointment to have the pipe repaired.

Thawing a Frozen Pipe

If you notice that you have a frozen pipe but it has not yet burst you may be able to thaw it out by yourself. An interesting fact to know is that pipes do not break at the point of the freeze. They break somewhere down the line where the water pressure is building up because it can not get past the freeze. Because of this it’s important to thaw the pipe as soon as possible if you can get to it. Click here to be taken to the Frozen Pipes page on our main website which has detailed instructions on how to thaw out your own pipe at home. The instructions are located toward the bottom of the page.

Hopefully you got some good takeaways from this blog. If you have any questions please do not hesistate to call, email, or leave a comment here. All contact information can be found here. Thanks for stopping by!

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