As we begin to reach above freezing temperatures, now is the time to make sure someone is home and keeping an eye out for evidence of burst pipes. Here are a few handy tips to make sure you uncover storm damage before it’s too late.

 – If any of your faucets have stopped flowing, you likely have a frozen pipe.  Make sure you open up the faucet all the way, so that, as the thaw progresses and the ice begins to loosen, the water has somewhere to go.

– Pay attention to your ceilings if you have a two-story home with bathrooms upstairs or plumbing in the attic.  Look for dark coloring spots in the ceiling and other evidence of a leak, such as water coming through light fixtures downstairs.  Look for wet flooring near walls that contain plumbing.  Look for darker spots on walls around plumbing fixtures.

– On the exterior, look for darker spots on the walls or water coming out of your weep holes, which are located at the bottom of your exterior wall where it meets the foundation.  Note if you have an older home, you might not have weep holes.

– Know where the main water shut off is to your home.  Usually this is at the street very close to the meter.  Occasionally a home will have a dedicated water shut off in the garage.  If you detect a leak, shut off the water to try and limit the amount of damage.  Shut off valves at the street usually require a special key, available at Home Depot and Lowes, if they are not out of stock.  I’m including a video of how to locate and turn off your water main if located at the street.