Winter Pipe Protection: 5 Hacks to Keep Them Intact in Freezing Temperatures
Winter Pipe Protection: 5 Hacks to Keep Them Intact in Freezing Temperatures
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All homeowners that live in pleasant climates need to do their best to winterize their pipelines. Failing to do so can spell calamity like frozen, fractured, or burst pipes.
Attempt a Hair Clothes Dryer or Heat Weapon
When your pipelines are virtually freezing, your dependable hair clothes dryer or warmth gun is a godsend. If the hot towels do not help remove any type of resolving ice in your pipelines, bowling hot air directly into them may help. You may end up damaging your pipelines while trying to melt the ice.
Open Cabinet Doors Hiding Plumbing
When it's chilly outside, it would be handy to open up cabinet doors that are masking your pipes. Doing this tiny technique can keep your pipelines warm and limit the potentially dangerous end results of freezing temperature levels.
Take Some Time to Wrap Exposed Piping
One awesome as well as very easy hack to warm up cold pipelines is to wrap them with warm towels. You can also utilize pre-soaked towels in hot water, just do not forget to put on protective gloves to guard your hands from the heat.
Activate the Faucets
When the temperature level declines and also it seems as if the icy temperature level will last, it will aid to turn on your water both inside and also outdoors. This will certainly keep the water streaming with your plumbing systems. You'll finish up wasting gallons of water this means.
Turn off Water When Pipelines are Frozen
If you observe that your pipelines are totally icy or practically nearing that stage, turn off the primary water shutoff quickly. You will typically discover this in your cellar or laundry room near the heating system or the front wall surface closest to the street. Transform it off right away to prevent more damages.
Do not neglect to shut outside water resources, as well, such as your connection for the yard residence. Doing this will certainly stop added water from filling out your plumbing system. However, with even more water, even more ice will certainly accumulate, which will ultimately lead to burst pipelines. It is best to call a professional plumber for an inspection if you are unclear regarding the state of your pipes this winter season. Taking this aggressive approach can save you hundreds of bucks in repairs.
All property owners who live in pleasant climates have to do their finest to winterize their pipes. Failing to do so can spell calamity like frozen, cracked, or ruptured pipes. If the warm towels do not help remove any resolving ice in your pipes, bowling warm air directly right into them might aid. Transform off the main water shutoff instantly if you see that your pipes are entirely frozen or virtually nearing that phase. With more water, even more ice will stack up, which will at some point lead to burst 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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