Caroline County, Maryland · Denton
Water spreading, a burst pipe, sewage, mold or smoke? Call to be connected with a restoration company that serves Denton, Federalsburg and Greensboro. Start the steps below while you wait.
Answered 24/7 by a participating local provider. We're a referral service and don't do the work ourselves. How it works
Start here
Pick the closest match. These steps limit the damage and protect your insurance claim. Skip anything that isn't safe.
Caroline County averages 12 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly December to March, and 29% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 9.3 times a year here, most often in October. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
29% of homes here predate 1960, when clay and cast iron sewer laterals were standard. Roots and cracks in those lines are a common cause of backups.
In Caroline County, 3.28 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
20% of occupied homes in Caroline County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Maryland county median of 9.3%.
With 69 muggy nights a year, mold in Caroline County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
Caroline County covers 319 square miles of eastern Maryland, with about 33,669 residents and 13,531 homes. Besides Denton, the county seat, the biggest communities are Federalsburg, Greensboro and Ridgely. The county's median home was built in 1981.
55/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Caroline County ranks 8 of 23 Maryland counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Caroline County ranks highest compared with other Maryland counties.
For frozen pipes, Caroline County is a typical Maryland county, which is still plenty. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 12 nights a year at or below 20°F (12th of 23) and 80 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
On February 21, 2015 the low fell to about -1°F, and in the stretch ending January 2018 the county went 7 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs December to March. That's when an outdoor spigot left connected to a hose, or a pipe in a crawl space, is most likely to split.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Nov 8 and the last spring freeze around Mar 30.
Rainfall is about average for Maryland. About 9.3 days a year bring an inch or more (12th of 23), most often in October, out of 44.5 inches of total precipitation. On September 30, 2016, 3.28 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.98 inches (through September 30, 2016).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 75 times a year here. They're the main driver of ice dams and of water working its way through foundation cracks in late winter.
Housing
Maryland's 23 counties range widely in housing age; Caroline ranks 8th, with 48% of its homes built before 1980.
In Caroline County 29% of homes are older than 1960. If yours is one of them and the plumbing has never been replaced, expect galvanized steel supply pipe and cast iron drain lines, the two materials most likely to fail quietly.
About 33% of homes went up between 1980 and 1999. Some houses from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s were plumbed with polybutylene, a gray plastic pipe known for failing at fittings. A plumber can tell you in a few minutes whether you have it.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 7% of the housing here. Water lines in the underbelly depend on intact skirting and working heat tape, and they're usually the first to freeze in a cold snap.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 69 times a year here, close to the Maryland county median of 76. Mold grows when indoor humidity stays above about 60%, the EPA's ceiling. A basement dehumidifier set to 50% and drying anything wet within 24 to 48 hours prevents most problems.
Mold remediation: what to expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Caroline County it's 4% utility gas, 58% electric, 15% propane and 5% wood. Wood and propane heat are above the Maryland norm. Annual chimney and vent inspection, which the NFPA recommends, is one of the most effective fire-prevention habits for these homes.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Caroline County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Caroline gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. Dorchester County has the oldest housing nearby, with 57% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Caroline | Maryland median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 29% | 20% | 6 of 23 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 48% | 44% | 8 of 23 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 20% | 23% | 21 of 23 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 7.4% | 2.6% | 3 of 23 |
| Vacant homes | 7.7% | 7.7% | 12 of 23 |
| Wood or propane heat | 20% | 9.3% | 5 of 23 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 12/yr | 12/yr | 12 of 23 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 9.3/yr | 9.3/yr | 12 of 23 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 75/yr | 70/yr | 9 of 23 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 69/yr | 76/yr | 13 of 23 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Maryland county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Caroline County: freezing from December to March, heavy rain in July, October and December.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 5-year estimates (2020-2024); weather from NOAA nClimGrid-Daily county averages (EpiNOAA), 2015–2024, averaged across the county; county boundaries from Census TIGER. Reviewed 2026-10-21. Methodology