Another happy customer. We were SERVPRO Hero's. We had done a water damage cleanup for this customer. A few days after we completed the job this thank you card came in the mail. Our crew was also happy that we provide superior customer service.

This family’s Cary residence experienced serious water damage after the water heater burst. SERVPRO of Southern McHenry County has the expertise and equipment to mitigate residential water losses just like this one. In this particular situation, we extracted the water then dried the carpet and walls in place. The family was very grateful to be able to use the space again within a matter of days!

The refrigerator is one of the hardest working appliances around the home, so when one breaks suffers a leak, the experience can have consequences. This Cary home experienced a refrigerator water supply line break flooding the kitchen and basement while the homeowner was at work.

When the line is damaged and needs replacement there are a few things to keep in mind. For instance, one of the factors at this point would be to choose a line material that will offer durability and long lasting utility.

Plastic water lines

In terms of materials, plastic lines are the most cost effective. The biggest threat lies in these lines cracking.

Copper water lines

Another option is to go with copper water lines that yield superior sturdiness but are also more prone to kinkiness.

Okay, most of us don’t pay a lot of attention to our toilet supply line — that metal pipe running from the wall to the toilet. We just assume that it’ll just keep doing its job forever. But there’s a hidden problem lurking in many of these gadgets that could be a broken line in the making and your own toilet might be getting ready to betray you.

Manufacturers always made these lines out of brass or some other sturdy metal, and you could generally count on them providing years of trouble-free service as long as they were attached correctly. Well, today’s toilet supply lines usually have a cheap plastic nut on them. This is just asking for trouble, because there’s no way to tighten a cheap plastic nut sufficiently without stressing it to break. We received a call where a busted toilet supply line flooded the entire home and caused thousands of dollars in damages, all because of one cheap little part.

One of the most common things to happen to a home during a cold snap is water damage caused by frozen pipes. Even where extremely cold weather is normal in winter, pipes freeze and cause all kinds of problems. Problems come up when frozen pipes thaw; cold weather makes pipes brittle and frozen water has less volume than running water. The pipe breaks due to the cold, water starts running and then you've got a mess on your hands.

Pipes can freeze in 2 main areas – water coming in and water going out. You know water coming in is frozen because nothing comes out the tap. Frozen outgoing pipes from showers, toilets and sinks are a bigger problem because these will back up into the house; that's the reason it's always recommended to keep a little water dripping into the sinks and opening the cabinet doors under the sink ... running water doesn't freeze as easily as standing water.

Ice dams occur on heated buildings with sloping roofs in cold climates with deep snow accumulation. Ice dams on roofs form when accumulated snow forms an insulating layer under cold conditions that would cause the freezing point to be within the snow layer, if it were not subject to melting. Instead, building heat coming through the roof's surface melts the snow resting on it. This causes meltwater to flow down the roof, until it reaches below a place on the roof's surface that is below freezing—typically at the eaves where there is no building heat. When the meltwater reaches the frozen surface, ice accumulates, growing a barrier that impedes further passage of meltwater off the roof. Ice dams may result in leaks through the roofing material, possibly resulting in damaged ceilings, walls, roof structure and insulation, damage or injury when the ice dam falls off or from attempts to remove ice dams.

Homeowner from Lake In The Hills comes home and finds their finished basement destroyed by a leaking hot water heater. The picture shows the hot water supply line after it was replaced.

Your water heater has a cold water line that constantly feeds water to the water tank as you use the hot water. Another line leads from the tank to supply your home with hot water for showers, baths, dishwashing and laundry. If either of the water lines show signs of corrosion or begin to leak you should replace one or both. Use the flexible water lines found in water heater installation kits or supply lines required by your city's building code.