Winter is here and many homeowners will pay a heavy price for failing to protect their property from frozen pipes.

According to the Insurance Industry Institute water damage and freezing are the most common home insurance claims, accounting for $8,861 on average. The majority of the $10 billion annually in insurance claims resulting from plumbing leaks is due to frozen pipes.

Chuck DeSmet, founder and CEO of FloLogic, a plumbing leak detection device that auto shuts off water, said that water’s power in liquid and solid state can cause serious damage to the home.

“Water can unleash a double whammy where freezing causes a breakage and thawing causes destructive flood,” DeSmet says.

“Water damage from frozen pipes not only destroys irreplaceable property, it can uproot families from their homes and cost them for years to come in higher insurance premiums.”

Frozen pipes and water damage can be avoided if homeowners follow practical guidance and use technology to automatically detect and stop leaks.

Here are some practical tips to avoid freezing pipe damage this season.

* Turn up the heat. Keep thermostats at 55-60°F or higher regardless of whether you’re at home. This will ensure that crawl spaces and basements don’t freeze. To provide extreme cold protection, open sink cabinets to allow pipes to receive additional heat.

* Insulate. Insulate. Pipe insulation wraps increase resistance to freezing ambient temperature, while openings and cracks in insulating structures will keep your pipes’ environment at a safe temperature. An UL-listed heat wrap or cable around pipes will generate warmth electronically to prevent freezing.

* Inspect and update. Make sure that outdoor hoses are disconnected from spigots. Water leaks from outside pipes can be caused by water hoses that are not replaced regularly.

* Let it trickle. Allow the faucets to drip or trickle when temperatures are particularly frigid in exposed homes. This will prevent freezing but it also wastes water.

* Install leak control technology. Smart water valves that detect leaks like the one offered FloLogic (leak detection smart water valves)www.flologic.com will identify any broken pipe leak in a plumbing supply, and turn off the water to prevent the ice dam from completely melting. FloLogic is a great option for insurance discounts as it virtually eliminates the possibility of water damage throughout the year.

* Shut it down. Shutting off water supply and draining pipes is the best protection if you don’t own a leak detection device. Even a tiny leakage from a crack pipe that produces two drops per second will cause 77 gallons of water to be lost in one week. This can lead to costly damages.

DeSmet says that increased knowledge and adoptions of leak control technologies will lead to reduced damage to frozen and broken pipes.

“When insurance companies pay to repair leak damage, it indirectly costs every policy holder,” DeSmet says. “Simple preventive measures and leak control technologies will help spare us all.”

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