What Plano, Frisco, McKinney and Allen households can do before and after hail and hard freezes, from the April 2014 hail reports to the 139-hour freeze of February 2021, and when to call a restoration company instead.
North Texas weather swings hard. The same Collin County neighborhoods that bake through about 20 days a year above 100 degrees have also seen golf ball hail and a winter storm that kept DFW below freezing for nearly six days. Each kind of event leaves a different mess inside the house.
This guide covers the household side: preparing, cleaning up what storms track in, and recognizing the damage that needs a contractor or restoration company rather than a cleaner.
The National Weather Service's summary of the April 3 to 4, 2014 severe weather outbreak lists hail reports across the cities north of Plano. A trained spotter reported 1.5 inch hail in Frisco. In Allen, half dollar size hail was followed by 2 inch hail. In McKinney, 2 inch hail fell near Highway 380 and Lake Forest Drive, and ping pong to golf ball size hail hit Craig Ranch.
Winter can be severe too, if rarely. During the February 2021 storm, DFW Airport stayed at or below freezing for 139 straight hours, from the evening of February 13 to midday February 19, and recorded 5.0 inches of snow for the event. In a typical year, freezes fall between an average first date of November 22 and an average last date of March 12.
Those two kinds of event, hail and long freezes, cause most of the storm-related mess Plano area homes deal with.
Preparation is mostly about keeping the outside outside and knowing where your shutoffs are.
Most hail storms leave a familiar indoor mess: wet leaves, shredded foliage and grit tracked across floors, muddy paw prints, and a gritty film on sills from wind-driven rain around window frames. Start outside, because anything left on the porch will come back in. Sweep entries and walkways, rinse doormats, then clean the floors inside each door before moving deeper into the house.
Window tracks and sills take the brunt of wind-driven grit. Vacuum the tracks first, then wipe with a damp cloth. Check sliding doors in particular, which collect leaves and small debris in the bottom track and stop sliding smoothly.
Roof and window repairs after a hail storm bring their own dust. If a contractor has been working, let them finish and clear their materials before booking a cleaner. The City of Plano offers a paid special collection for large amounts of construction debris from household renovation, which is the route for leftover materials. Cleaners do not handle construction waste.
A multi-day freeze like February 2021 tests plumbing. Once temperatures rise, check under every sink, around the water heater, along exterior walls and in the garage ceiling for drips, stains or bulging drywall. If you find a burst pipe, shut off the water at the main and call a plumber.
Indoors, a long freeze usually means days of closed windows, extra cooking and wet boots by the door. The household cleanup is straightforward: launder rugs and mats that got soaked, wipe floors where melted snow pooled, and air out the house once it is warm enough to do so.
Some storm damage needs specialists. Broken window glass, water inside walls or ceilings, soaked carpet pad, sewage backups and any mold that appears after a leak all call for a qualified contractor or a restoration company. Cleaners do not perform that work, and cleaning over hidden moisture can make the problem worse.
Once repairs are done and the area is dry, a One-Time Deep Clean is a good way to remove the fine dust that repair work spreads through a house, from baseboards and blinds to vents and fan blades. For bulky items ruined by water, Plano collects bulky waste that is too large for its 68 and 95 gallon carts.
The questions Plano homeowners ask most often about this topic, answered plainly.
TotalCare Cleaning will service Plano and surrounding areas with background-checked cleaners and is insured up to $1 million. Re-clean guarantee: if we missed something, tell us by the end of the next day and we come back to fix it. Beyond Clean. TotalCare.
