Temperatures next week are set to crash, becoming cold enough to burst unprotected pipes and potentially cost homeowners tens of thousands of dollars in damage.

When that happens, water could ruin entire floors inside your home.

Keith Walsh has serviced the Central Shore region for four decades.

“Last couple of winters, it was kind of mild. This is one of the first winters in five years it’s going to get below 10 degrees,” said Walsh, owner of Keith Walsh and Sons Plumbing and Heating.

Walsh says once temperatures get below 20 degrees, your home becomes vulnerable to frozen and split pipes.

“I would shut your main water valve off. At least this way, you come back and have a freeze up - you’ll see that water right away. It won’t be running for days," says Walsh.

How do pipes freeze? Walsh says the majority of problems begin when the thermostat fails, usually from dead batteries.

“Definitely check your thermostat batteries, A lot of times, you...walk in, there’s no heat. The thermostat is flashing and it’s all because of two AA batteries," he says.

He recommends setting the temperature of your empty homes at 55 degrees and leaving the emergency boiler switches in the "on" position.

“If it does freeze and split, once it thaws it’s just going to run continuous gallons and gallons of water and that’s not good," he says.

Walsh says they are simple solutions that are easy to overlook - and just one mistake could cost a lot of money.

“It could be over $10,000 or more easily. Especially if the equipment is above you," he says.