Everyone has their own unique conception on the subject of How to Prevent Frozen Pipes.
All house owners who stay in warm environments should do their ideal to winterize their pipes. It is something you need to do during autumn prior to deep winter genuinely starts. Failing to do so can spell calamity like icy, broken, or ruptured pipelines. If the climate outside is shocking, right here are some handy winterizing hacks to maintain your plumbing system protected even.
Switch on the Faucets
When the temperature drops as well as it seems as if the icy temperature will last, it will certainly help to turn on your water both inside as well as outdoors. This will maintain the water flowing with your plumbing systems. You'll end up losing gallons of water this way.
Open Cabinet Doors Hiding Plumbing
When it's cold outside, it would certainly be valuable to open up cabinet doors that are masking your pipelines. Doing this small technique can maintain your pipes warm as well as restrict the possibly dangerous results of freezing temperature levels.
Require Time to Cover Exposed Pipes
One cool as well as very easy hack to heat up icy pipes is to cover them with warm towels. You can likewise utilize pre-soaked towels in warm water, simply do not forget to use protective handwear covers to secure your hands from the heat.
Try a Hair Dryer or Warm Gun
When your pipelines are almost freezing, your dependable hair dryer or heat weapon is a blessing. If the warm towels do not help remove any resolving ice in your pipes, bowling warm air directly into them may aid. You may end up harmful your pipes while trying to thaw the ice.
When Pipelines are Frozen, close Off Water
If you notice that your pipelines are completely frozen or virtually nearing that stage, turn off the major water valve immediately. You will usually discover this in your basement or laundry room near the heating system or the front wall closest to the street. Transform it off as soon as possible to avoid additional damage.
Do not fail to remember to shut external water resources, too, such as your connection for the yard house. Doing this will protect against additional water from filling out your plumbing system. With even more water, even more ice will load up, which will ultimately lead to break pipes. If you are not sure concerning the state of your pipelines this winter months, it is best to call a professional plumber for an evaluation. Taking this proactive method can save you thousands of dollars out of commission.
All home owners who live in warm climates should do their best to winterize their pipes. Failure to do so can spell catastrophe like frozen, fractured, or burst pipes. If the warm towels do not aid dislodge any kind of settling ice in your pipes, bowling hot air directly right into them may help. Transform off the main water valve promptly if you discover that your pipes are totally icy or almost nearing that stage. With more water, even more ice will certainly load up, which will eventually lead to break pipelines.
Planning Ahead for Winter Plumbing!
Given how the weather has been recently here in Kansas City, it may not seem like it, but the truth is winter is quickly approaching. As we near the end of September, it is never a bad idea to start considering which areas of your home could use some preventative maintenance heading into the colder months, as well as what you should remember to do once the colder temps settle in. And considering your plumbing system can certainly be impacted by changing weather conditions, guess what we’ll be talking about today?
For those that are visiting our blog for the very first time, welcome to Stine-Nichols Plumbing. Here on the blog, we post weekly about various aspects of the plumbing world. Whether that be DIY tips, brand highlights or anything else, they’re all designed to make homeowners more knowledgeable about their plumbing systems. Believe it or not, even just some general knowledge about one’s plumbing can go a long way in preventing unneeded repairs and keeping everything running smoothly. As referenced in the previous paragraph, this week’s blog will walk through a few of the steps you can do to your own plumbing system to ensure you’re ready to go for the upcoming winter weather and tips for keeping it all in working order as the winter carries on. Let’s hop right in!
Disconnect Hoses
You’ve likely heard this one on multiple occasions, but it is certainly something worth mentioning. Make sure to disconnect any and all outdoor hoses and then turn off those outdoor faucets at the shut-off. The logic behind this is probably something you would have learned in a grade school science class. When water freezes, it expands. Thus, due to this, it’s going to occupy more space. And if there’s no space to occupy, trouble ensues. It’s as simple as that!
Long story short, if you have room to store them indoors, do so. If not, just be sure to completely drain them and then store them in a dry area, such as the garage or a shed. Failure to disconnect the hoses can easily result in frozen/bursting pipes and plumbing headaches for you, especially if there is still water sitting in the hose! Do yourself a favor and disconnect your hoses once you know you won’t be using them anymore for that season. It’s a quick-and-easy step that’s always worth the time.
Headed Out of Town?
Our next point will likely get more and more relevant as we get into the holiday season. Do you remember the extreme arctic blast that hit the Kansas City area in February of 2021? Sub-zero temps, frigid wind chills, it was definitely not the funnest of times for KC residents. Nonetheless, here at Stine-Nichols Plumbing, it’s safe to say our technicians were quite busy dealing with frozen/bursting pipes. What I’m hinting at here is that you never know when we’ll experience extremely cold temperatures. So if you’re going to be out of town for a little bit, it’s never a bad idea to turn off your water at the main shut-off valve. While this won’t prevent every possible plumbing issue, it will at least limit the damage if something bad were to occur. Especially if you don’t have a family member or friend that’ll be checking on your home while you’re away, make sure to keep this tip in mind!
By the way, it may sound like a no-brainer to most, but if you are headed out of town, make sure to also keep the heat on inside while away. You will have some added energy costs from heating a home while nobody’s there, but if it prevents you from dealing with a plumbing emergency, it’s well worth it!
Leave Cabinet Doors Open
As you may start to notice, the primary winter plumbing problem that you need to be mindful of involves pipes freezing. Whether it be indoors or outdoors, they can freeze for a few different reasons, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of various tactics you can implement to improve your odds of keeping everything in working order. Yet another one of these that you’ve likely heard before is leaving the cabinet doors under your bathroom or kitchen sink open. Will this provide complete protection? Not necessarily. However, this is an easy way to make sure some of the heat in your home is reaching those pipes that aren’t insulated under your sinks.
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