How do you actually feel about How to stop pipes from freezing during the winter?
All home owners that live in temperate environments need to do their ideal to winterize their pipes. Failure to do so can spell disaster like icy, fractured, or ruptured pipes.
Switch on the Faucets
When the temperature level decreases as well as it seems as if the frigid temperature level will certainly last, it will aid to turn on your water both indoors and also outdoors. This will certainly maintain the water streaming via your plumbing systems. You'll end up wasting gallons of water this way.
Open Up Closet Doors Hiding Plumbing
It would certainly be handy to open cabinet doors that are masking your pipes when it's cool outside. They can be somewhere in your kitchen or restroom. This will permit the warm air from your heating system to distribute there. Therefore, you prevent these subjected pipes from cold. Doing this little method can maintain your pipes warm and limit the possibly unsafe outcomes of freezing temperatures.
Take Some Time to Wrap Exposed Pipes
One great and easy hack to warm up cold pipes is to wrap them with cozy towels. You can additionally utilize pre-soaked towels in hot water, simply don't fail to remember to use protective handwear covers to protect your hands from the warmth.
Try a Hair Clothes Dryer or Heat Weapon
When your pipelines are practically freezing, your dependable hair dryer or warmth gun is a blessing. If the hot towels do not aid dislodge any type of resolving ice in your pipes, bowling hot air straight into them may aid. However, do not make use of various other items that create direct fires like a strike lantern. This can result in a larger calamity that you can not regulate. You may wind up damaging your pipelines while trying to melt the ice. As well as in the future, you might even end up shedding your residence. Be careful!
Shut down Water When Pipelines are Frozen
Turn off the primary water valve promptly if you discover that your pipelines are entirely frozen or virtually nearing that stage. You will typically discover this in your cellar or utility room near the heating system or the front wall surface closest to the street. Turn it off today to stop further damage.
With even more water, more ice will stack up, which will at some point lead to burst pipelines. If you are unclear regarding the state of your pipelines this winter months, it is best to call a professional plumber for an assessment.
All home owners who live in temperate climates should do their finest to winterize their pipes. Failing to do so can lead to calamity like icy, fractured, or ruptured pipes. If the warm towels do not assist remove any kind of settling ice in your pipelines, bowling hot air directly into them may help. Transform off the main water shutoff instantly if you see that your pipelines are completely icy or virtually nearing that phase. With more water, even more ice will certainly stack up, which will ultimately lead to break 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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