Frozen pipes can be an emergency situation in your home. Should they burst, water could flow out from them into your basement and rooms served by them, flooding basements and rooms connected with that particular pipe.
Below are a few simple strategies for winterizing your plumbing and avoiding frozen pipes this season. Make sure everyone in your household knows where the main water shut-off valve can be found and how to operate it.
Turn Off the Water
As soon as you return home, first shut off your main water valve to reduce any chance of freezing pipes and ensure an emergency can find it quickly if required. Make a note of where this water valve can be found for quick retrieval in case an unexpected situation arises.
If you can’t turn off the water, use heat to defrost frozen sections of pipe by applying heat. An electric heating pad wrapped around the pipe, hair dryer or portable space heater (keeping away from any flammable materials) are effective methods of doing this; continue applying heat until all ice has melted away.
Insulate the area where your frozen pipes are, such as a crawl space, attic or garage. Insulating can help protect them against further freezing in future and seal any air leaks that allow cold air into the room through doors, windows, wall sockets or switches – as well as spaces behind or inside cabinetry – to help avoid future freezing issues.
Seal Up Drafts
Frozen pipes can crack, expand and rupture under pressure from freezing temperatures, resulting in costly water damage to walls, ceilings, floors and personal belongings. Furthermore, burst pipes disrupt your water supply resulting in higher repair and replacement costs than anticipated.
Insulating your pipes is one of the best ways to protect them against freezing in cold weather, especially for pipes in unheated spaces like basements, attics or crawl spaces. Protect these vulnerable pipes using foam pipe insulation or heat tape which will maintain an even temperature around them and keep your plumbing warm and flowing smoothly.
Reducing drafts throughout your home is also one way to minimize frozen pipes, including those around doors and windows, exterior wall sockets and switches, electrical wiring, hose bibs and cabinetry. Sealing any leaks using caulking and weather stripping will further lower your risk of frozen pipes.
Turn Up the Heat
If your faucet only produces a trickle of water when turned on, that may indicate your pipes have frozen over. Without prompt thawing efforts they could burst and flood your home – so act fast or risk having burst pipes!
Pipes located along outside walls, in uninsulated spaces or garages are at risk for freezing, so protect these pipes using foam insulation sleeves and wraps. Leave cabinet doors open under sinks that face outside walls so warmer air can circulate around them and stop them from freezing over.
Leave a small stream of water running all day and night will also reduce the likelihood that your pipes will freeze, thus saving yourself from repairs or replacement costs down the line. While doing this may increase your water bill slightly, its cost is minimal when compared with fixing broken or destroyed pipes.
Boothe’s technicians can assist in winterizing your plumbing, providing the ultimate protection from damaging freezes.
Turn on the Faucets
When your faucet only produces a trickle or no water at all when turned on, this indicates a frozen pipe has formed somewhere along its path. Therefore, it is vital that homeowners follow seasonal plumbing winterizing tips such as installing insulation and electric pipe heat cable around areas prone to freezing temperatures in their home.
Exterior pipes connected to your water meter, hose bibs and swimming pool supply lines must also be winterized before use. When draining and insulating hose bibs for winter use, make sure they’re drained thoroughly, insulate well and bleed the valve before turning them off for good. Also be sure that every member of your household knows where the master shut-off valve for your home plumbing is so that if needed you can quickly turn off water supply when necessary. Using space heaters to gently heat exposed pipes around any exposed pipes should also work; just remember not open flame devices such as blow torches which could potentially start fires!
