A burst pipe in a Colorado winter can cause thousands in water damage within hours. Here’s exactly what to do — and what not to do.
Pipes freeze and burst in Colorado. It happens to well-maintained homes in Thornton. It happens to newer builds in Greeley. It happens in older Victorians in Fort Collins when temperatures drop faster than expected overnight. When it does, what you do in the first 30 minutes matters more than almost anything else.
Turn off the water immediately. Your main shutoff valve is usually near the water meter — in a basement, utility room, or crawlspace. Know where yours is before winter arrives. Once the water is off, open faucets to relieve any remaining pressure in the pipes.
Don’t assume it looks worse than it is. Water travels. A pipe that bursts in an upstairs bathroom can saturate the subfloor, migrate into wall cavities, reach the ceiling below, and start growing mold — all before you can see the full extent of damage. What looks like a wet patch on the ceiling often means the structural materials behind it are already saturated.
Don’t use electrical fixtures in affected rooms. If water has reached light fixtures, outlets, or your electrical panel, treat the area as if it’s energized. Turn off the circuit breaker for the affected area if you can do so safely from a dry location.
Document everything before cleanup. Take photos and video of all visible water damage before moving anything. Your insurance adjuster will need this, and it protects you if the claim is disputed later.
Call a restoration professional — not just a plumber. A plumber fixes the pipe. A restoration crew handles what the water did to your home: extraction, structural drying, moisture mapping, and documentation for your insurance claim. These are two different jobs, and doing only the first one often leads to mold problems 2–3 weeks later.
At Quick Restore of Colorado, we respond to pipe burst calls across the Denver metro, Fort Collins, Boulder, and surrounding communities — 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
If you’re dealing with a burst pipe right now, call us at (720) 534-1001.