What to do when water pipes burst due to cold weather in Middle Tennessee

Snow and frigid temperatures bring on more dangers than slick roads.

While schools close and most stay inside to avoid weather-related issues outside, problems can lurk inside homes and businesses in the form of breaking pipes.

With a prolonged cold snap hanging over Middle Tennessee, Lee Company, a service solutions business, has been busy this week fixing burst pipes, officials reported, noting that many Southern homes are not equipped to handle extreme deep freezes like the one seen in Nashville over the past few days.

If pipes are not properly winterized, they can freeze and then burst, causing water damage and mold mildew.

More: Tennessee officials: Winter weather deaths rise to 17, crashes, falls, cold to blame

"We’ve seen hundreds of burst and frozen pipes this last week, and we’re working on helping every customer as we can." Lee Company's Director of Emerging Markets Jake Dotson said.

Why pipes freeze

As temperatures dip, the water that's sitting in a home or business's pipes freezes, causing them to expand and create pressure inside that leads to cracks or bursts.

Other factors leading leaks or bursts include pipe location, such as those that are located in areas without adequate insulation, exposed to harsh winter elements or housed in inactive buildings or areas with insufficient heating.

What to do when pipes burst

First, when a pipe bursts, turn off the water to stop it from pumping water into your home. Always know where to find the main shutoff or learn how to stop the water supply at the meter.

"If you have access to the frozen pipe, you can try to thaw with a hair dryer, but we don’t always recommend that because you don’t know if that pipe is damaged or already burst. You could end up causing a greater issue if the pipe is, in fact, severely damaged. It’s important to not use an open flame to thaw a pipe because you can hurt the integrity of the pipe, or worse, catch your house on fire. Pipes are generally near wood," Dotson said.

Once the water stops, a resident will have to worry about what remains in the frozen pipes.

If they see any electrical sparking or outages, they should immediately turn off the electricity to affected areas using the fuse box.

Call a licensed plumber to fix the leak and drain off any remaining water from the pipes. A professional will make sure no other water damages the home.

Plumbers can assist in thawing any pipes that remain frozen.

Take pictures of all damages, including those caused by spilled water or the pipes bursting. before cleaning up, and don't throw anything away until an insurance adjuster has inspected the home. And always assess the entire home, including above impacted areas.

Dry affected areas as soon as possible to avoid mold, mildew or water damage.

Use mops, sponges and old newspapers to soak up standing water. Move all wet items out of the room to dry and pull up any wet carpet and rugs.

Using fans and dehumidifiers, create air circulation around the leak. Open windows if weather permits. But, do not circulate hot air as it can cause bacteria to grow and encourage mildew to form.

Work with insurance to determine if coverage includes water damage and burst pipes.

The cost of a burst pipe

For a two-inch pipe, the flow rate for a burst pipe can be as much as 850 gallons per minute.

For a four-inch pipe, it can be as high as 3,400 gallons per minute.

A 24-foot, above-ground pool that is five feet deep contains about 16,000 gallons of water. If a two-inch pipe breaks, it would be able to fill that pool in 20 minutes.

In Clarksville, 2,600 gallons of water costs about $20.35.

Nashville measures water by cubic feet. One cubic foot is equal to 748 gallons of water.

For a two-inch meter in Nashville, customers pay $43.08.

So, if a Nashville homeowner has a two-inch meter and uses 22 cubit feet of water, equal to a little more than 16,000 gallons, the bill will be $483.91.

Most Nashville homes use 5/8 inch pipes, which cost less. So, in that case, customers using 22 cubic feet of water would pay $290.38.

Reach reporter Craig Shoup by email at cshoup@gannett.com and on X @Craig_Shoup. To support his work, sign up for a digital subscription to www.tennessean.com.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Steps to take if cold weather cracks water pipes in Middle Tennessee