Nearly everybody has their personal thinking with regards to How to Prevent Frozen Pipes.
All home owners that live in pleasant environments have to do their finest to winterize their pipes. Failure to do so can spell disaster like icy, fractured, or ruptured pipelines.
Switch on the Faucets
When the temperature level declines and it appears as if the frigid temperature level will certainly last, it will help to transform on your water both inside your home and also outdoors. This will keep the water flowing through your plumbing systems. You'll end up losing gallons of water this way.
Open Cabinet Doors Hiding Plumbing
It would be handy to open up cupboard doors that are concealing your pipelines when it's cold outside. For example, they could be somewhere in your kitchen area or bathroom. This will permit the warm air from your heating unit to flow there. As a result, you prevent these exposed pipes from cold. Doing this small trick can keep your pipelines warm and limit the potentially hazardous outcomes of freezing temperature levels.
Require Time to Cover Exposed Water Lines
One easy and also nifty hack to warm up icy pipelines is to cover them with cozy towels. You can also utilize pre-soaked towels in hot water, simply do not forget to use protective gloves to safeguard your hands from the warmth.
Attempt a Hair Clothes Dryer or Warm Weapon
When your pipelines are virtually freezing, your trusty hair dryer or warm gun is a blessing. Bowling warm air straight right into them might help if the hot towels do not assist remove any kind of resolving ice in your pipes. Do not use other objects that create direct fires like a blow torch. This can result in a bigger catastrophe that you can not regulate. You may end up damaging your pipes while attempting to melt the ice. And in the long run, you might also end up melting your residence. So be cautious!
When Pipes are Frozen, close Off Water
If you observe that your pipes are totally icy or nearly nearing that phase, turn off the primary water shutoff quickly. You will usually find this in your basement or utility room near the heater or the front wall closest to the street. Transform it off right away to avoid more damage.
Don't forget to close exterior water resources, as well, such as your connection for the yard house. Doing this will certainly protect against extra water from filling out your plumbing system. With even more water, even more ice will certainly pile up, which will at some point lead to burst pipelines. If you are unsure concerning the state of your pipes this winter season, it is best to call a specialist plumber for an evaluation. Taking this positive approach can save you thousands of dollars in repairs.
All property owners that live in warm climates must do their ideal to winterize their pipes. Failure to do so can mean disaster like icy, broken, or ruptured pipelines. If the warm towels do not help dislodge any working out ice in your pipes, bowling hot air directly into them might aid. Transform off the main water shutoff promptly if you see that your pipes are completely frozen or virtually nearing that stage. With more water, more ice will certainly stack up, which will ultimately 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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