Gladwin County, Michigan · Gladwin
Water spreading, a burst pipe, sewage, mold or smoke? Call to be connected with a restoration company that serves Gladwin and Beaverton. 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.
Gladwin County averages 54 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to March, and 23% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 3.5 times a year here, most often in April. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Sewage backups in Gladwin County spike on heavy-rain days, about 3.5 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 93 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
48% of occupied homes in Gladwin County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Michigan county median of 29%.
With 13 muggy nights a year, mold in Gladwin County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
About 25,693 people live in Gladwin County, 502 square miles in central Lower Michigan, in roughly 17,037 homes. Besides Gladwin, the county seat, the biggest community is Beaverton. Half the homes here were built before 1980, half after.
36/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Gladwin County ranks 72 of 83 Michigan counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Gladwin County ranks highest compared with other Michigan counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Gladwin County sits near the middle of the state. From 2015–2024 it averaged 54 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 140 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 41st of 83 counties.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 24 days below freezing (ending February 2019), and the low bottomed out near -24°F on February 20, 2015.
The freeze season here runs November to March, with January the coldest. If you travel then, leave the thermostat at 55°F or above and open sink cabinets on outside walls.
Freezing nights typically start around Oct 21 and end around May 4.
Gladwin gets fewer downpours than most Michigan counties, but they still fill basements. About 3.5 days a year bring an inch or more (59th of 83), most often in April, out of 32.7 inches of total precipitation. On October 24, 2017, 3.26 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 4.98 inches, ending May 20, 2020, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 93 days a year. Each cycle melts and refreezes water at roof edges and in foundation cracks, which is how ice dams and basement seepage get started.
Housing
49% of homes in Gladwin County predate 1980, below the Michigan county median of 58.4%, which ranks 72nd of Michigan's 83 counties.
Housing age is mixed: 23% of homes are pre-1960 and 19% are 2000 or newer. Ask any plumber which era your house is from and you'll know which failures to watch for.
32% date from 1980 to 1999, the window when polybutylene, a gray flexible plastic supply pipe, was used in some homes. It's prone to leaks at the fittings, so it's worth checking for in a house from those years.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 11% 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.
With 34% of homes empty at survey time, landlords and seasonal owners should shut off the main or schedule checks in winter. An unheated vacant house is also where many policies limit freeze coverage.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 13 times a year here, above the Michigan county median of 10. Keep indoor humidity under 60%, as the EPA advises, and dry any leak within 24 to 48 hours; in a humid month a wet basement left alone won't dry by itself.
Mold remediation: what to expectBy main heating fuel, Gladwin County homes break down as 42% utility gas, 8% electric, 37% propane and 11% wood. Wood and propane heat are more common here than the state median. Have chimneys swept and fuel-burning appliances serviced each fall, and keep three feet clear around stoves and space heaters.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Gladwin County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Clare, Ogemaw and Roscommon get more pipe-freeze nights than Gladwin. Bay County has the oldest housing nearby, with 75% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Gladwin | Michigan median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 23% | 32% | 68 of 83 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 49% | 58% | 72 of 83 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 19% | 16% | 26 of 83 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 11% | 7.3% | 15 of 83 |
| Vacant homes | 34% | 20% | 21 of 83 |
| Wood or propane heat | 48% | 29% | 14 of 83 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 54/yr | 54/yr | 41 of 83 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 3.5/yr | 3.9/yr | 59 of 83 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 93/yr | 95/yr | 48 of 83 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 13/yr | 10/yr | 38 of 83 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Michigan county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Gladwin County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in April, August and October.
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