Helpful Methods to Defend Your Plumbing and Avoid Freezing in Frigid Weather
Helpful Methods to Defend Your Plumbing and Avoid Freezing in Frigid Weather
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Nearly everybody seems to have their own theory on the subject of How to stop pipes from freezing during the winter.
All homeowners that stay in warm climates have to do their finest to winterize their pipelines. It is something you should do throughout autumn prior to deep winter absolutely begins. Failing to do so can lead to calamity like frozen, cracked, or ruptured pipes. Below are some useful winterizing hacks to maintain your plumbing system secured even if the weather exterior is frightful.
Activate the Faucets
When the temperature level drops as well as it appears as if the freezing temperature level will certainly last, it will certainly assist to transform on your water both inside as well as outdoors. This will keep the water streaming through your plumbing systems. You'll end up wasting gallons of water this means.
Open Cabinet Doors Hiding Plumbing
When it's cool outside, it would certainly be practical to open up cabinet doors that are concealing your pipes. Doing this small technique can maintain your pipes cozy and restrict the potentially dangerous results of freezing temperatures.
Take Some Time to Wrap Exposed Pipes
One great and also very easy hack to heat up freezing pipes is to cover them with cozy towels. You can additionally utilize pre-soaked towels in warm water, simply do not forget to put on protective gloves to guard your hands from the heat.
Attempt a Hair Clothes Dryer or Heat Gun
When your pipes are nearly freezing, your dependable hair clothes dryer or heat gun is a godsend. If the warm towels do not assist dislodge any working out ice in your pipelines, bowling warm air straight right into them may assist. You might finish up harmful your pipelines while attempting to thaw the ice.
Turn off Water When Pipes are Frozen
Switch off the primary water shutoff quickly if you see that your pipelines are totally icy or almost nearing that stage. You will normally locate this in your basement or laundry room near the heater or the front wall surface closest to the street. Transform it off right now to prevent further damages.
Do not neglect to shut outside water resources, too, such as your connection for the garden house. Doing this will prevent extra water from filling your plumbing system. Unfortunately, with even more water, more ice will certainly accumulate, which will eventually bring about rupture pipelines. It is best to call a professional plumber for an inspection if you are unsure concerning the state of your pipes this winter. Taking this aggressive strategy can conserve you countless bucks out of commission.
All property owners that live in temperate environments must do their best to winterize their pipes. Failure to do so can spell disaster like frozen, broken, or burst pipes. If the hot towels do not assist dislodge any type of settling ice in your pipes, bowling warm air straight into them may aid. Transform off the major water valve immediately if you notice that your pipes are completely icy or practically nearing that phase. With more water, even more ice will load up, which will at some point lead to rupture 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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