Ruptured Water Spigot for Garden Hose

Spring is finally here! As you spend more and more time outdoors, you start to notice your winter-racked yellowish brown lawn. You glance at the sky – not a cloud in sight. Shrugging your shoulders you figure this has to be a man-made undertaking. You turn on the hose and set the sprinklers to water your thirsty lawn. Looking around your bare yard, you decide this is the time to plant those flowers you wanted to add to your garden. You go to your basement to retrieve your gardening equipment. That’s when you notice your basement is flooding. Where is this water coming from?

Determining the cause of water damage in basement

You’re not sure what could have caused this disaster. How long was the basement flooded? Thinking back you remember going into the basement earlier that day and it was fine. This problem must have something to do with the exterior water spigot. Once you turned it on, that’s when the problem started. When you turned on the hose for the lawn you inadvertently flooded the basement. You search your mind. You remember you had freeze proof water faucets. How could this have happened? The only explanation; the freeze proof water faucets you thought were freeze proof weren’t quite that freeze proof. It seems they actually froze and cracked the pipe. Another eureka moment – you realize you left your hose attached during the winter months. Now you have a disaster on your hands. Live and learn.

Tips for avoiding this disaster

While there’s not much you can do now except begin the flooded basement cleanup procedure. Here are some preventive methods to avoid this disaster in the future.

1. First, you need to purchase a female cap with a rubber hose washer that can be attached to any faucet bib.
2. Then, attach the cap onto the hose bib. After turning on the faucet, listen closely and/or put your hand on the faucet feeling for the pulsation of running water.
3. If you can hear or feel the water running through the faucet, you have an internal rupture.
4. Turn off the faucet to avoid flooding and call a professional to help with cleanup.

Calling Soil-Away for fast water damage mitigation

The damage is done and, although now you know how to prevent another tragedy, the flooded basement is still a big issue. Not only do you have the problem of removing the water, you also have the danger of structural damage caused by the flooding as well as the issue of mold. After assessing the damages, you determine to contact a professional. Soil-Away Cleaning and Restoration is the ideal company to call for such a flooded house emergency. They are IICRC master-certified and with over 25 years of service in the NH area, they are the perfect company to help with these issues. With the use of moisture meters and infrared cameras they can evaluate the extent of damage and get your house up and running in no time. Call them at (603) 641-6555 and get your home back on its feet.
Written by E. Aceves