Stop Pipe Bursts in Cold Weather: 5 Effective Winterizing Hacks
Stop Pipe Bursts in Cold Weather: 5 Effective Winterizing Hacks
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Here in the next paragraph you will find lots of brilliant information concerning How to Prevent Frozen Pipes.
All house owners that live in pleasant climates have to do their best to winterize their pipelines. Failure to do so can lead to disaster like icy, cracked, or burst pipelines.
Turn On the Faucets
When the temperature level decreases and also it seems as if the freezing temperature level will last, it will help to switch on your water both inside and outdoors. This will maintain the water moving through your plumbing systems. On top of that, the movement will reduce the freezing process. Significantly, there's no demand to transform it on full force. You'll end up squandering gallons of water by doing this. Rather, aim for concerning 5 drops per min.
Open Closet Doors Hiding Plumbing
When it's chilly outside, it would certainly be valuable to open up cupboard doors that are concealing your pipes. Doing this small trick can maintain your pipelines cozy and limit the possibly unsafe end results of freezing temperature levels.
Take Some Time to Cover Exposed Pipes
One clever and easy hack to warm up frigid pipelines is to cover them with warm towels. You can likewise use pre-soaked towels in hot water, simply don't neglect to wear safety handwear covers to protect your hands from the warmth.
Try a Hair Clothes Dryer or Heat Weapon
When your pipes are practically freezing, your reliable hair clothes dryer or heat gun is a blessing. If the hot towels do not assist displace any clearing up ice in your pipes, bowling hot air directly right into them might help. You may finish up damaging your pipes while attempting to thaw the ice.
When Pipes are Frozen, close Off Water
Switch off the major water shutoff immediately if you discover that your pipelines are entirely frozen or nearly nearing that phase. You will generally find this in your basement or utility room near the heating unit or the front wall surface closest to the street. Transform it off right away to prevent further damage.
Don't forget to close external water sources, too, such as your hookup for the garden home. Doing this will protect against added water from filling out your plumbing system. With more water, more ice will certainly pile up, which will ultimately lead to break pipelines. If you are unclear concerning the state of your pipelines this winter season, it is best to call a professional plumber for an inspection. Taking this aggressive approach can conserve you countless dollars out of commission.
All home owners that live in warm climates have to do their ideal to winterize their pipelines. Failing to do so can spell calamity like frozen, fractured, or ruptured pipes. If the warm towels do not aid dislodge any kind of working out ice in your pipelines, bowling hot air straight into them might aid. Turn off the major water valve promptly if you discover that your pipelines are completely frozen or nearly nearing that stage. With even more water, even more ice will load up, which will eventually lead to rupture pipes.
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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