My Best Winterizing Techniques: A Few Ways to Defend Against Pipe Bursts
My Best Winterizing Techniques: A Few Ways to Defend Against Pipe Bursts
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All property owners who live in temperate climates have to do their ideal to winterize their pipelines. Failure to do so can lead to disaster like icy, cracked, or ruptured pipelines.
Activate the Faucets
When the temperature drops and also it appears as if the icy temperature level will last, it will certainly help to turn on your water both indoors and also outdoors. This will certainly keep the water flowing via your plumbing systems. You'll end up squandering gallons of water this means.
Open Up Cabinet Doors Hiding Plumbing
When it's cold outside, it would be handy to open cupboard doors that are masking your pipes. They could be somewhere in your cooking area or washroom. This will enable the cozy air from your heating unit to circulate there. Because of this, you prevent these exposed pipelines from cold. Doing this little trick can maintain your pipes cozy as well as restrict the potentially unsafe results of freezing temperature levels.
Take Time to Cover Exposed Piping
One easy as well as clever hack to heat up cold pipelines is to wrap them with cozy towels. You can cover them first with towels. After protecting them in place, you can pour boiling water on the towels. Do it slowly to let the towels absorb the liquid. You can also use pre-soaked towels in hot water, just do not neglect to use protective gloves to safeguard your hands from the warmth.
Try a Hair Dryer or Warm Gun
When your pipes are nearly freezing, your reliable hair dryer or warmth gun is a godsend. If the warm towels do not help remove any type of resolving ice in your pipes, bowling warm air straight right into them may aid. You may finish up harmful your pipes while attempting to melt the ice.
Shut down Water When Pipes are Frozen
Shut off the major water valve quickly if you discover that your pipes are entirely icy or almost nearing that stage. You will generally locate this in your cellar or laundry room near the heating unit or the front wall closest to the street. Turn it off today to avoid further damages.
Do not fail to remember to shut exterior water resources, too, such as your connection for the garden house. Doing this will certainly prevent added water from filling your plumbing system. However, with even more water, more ice will accumulate, which will eventually bring about break pipelines. It is best to call a specialist plumber for an examination if you are unclear concerning the state of your pipes this winter. Taking this proactive approach can save you countless dollars out of commission.
All homeowners that live in warm environments have to do their finest to winterize their pipes. Failing to do so can mean calamity like frozen, fractured, or burst pipelines. If the hot towels do not help displace any resolving ice in your pipes, bowling warm air directly right into them may help. Transform off the main water valve right away if you notice that your pipes are completely icy or virtually nearing that phase. With even more water, more ice will certainly pile up, which will eventually lead to break 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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