Are you currently hunting for advice about How to stop pipes from freezing during the winter?
All property owners who live in pleasant climates must do their ideal to winterize their pipelines. Failure to do so can mean disaster like icy, broken, or ruptured pipes.
Turn On the Faucets
When the temperature level declines and it appears as if the freezing temperature will certainly last, it will aid to transform on your water both inside your home as well as outdoors. This will maintain the water streaming with your plumbing systems. You'll finish up losing gallons of water this method.
Open Up Cupboard Doors Hiding Plumbing
It would certainly be practical to open up closet doors that are concealing your pipes when it's chilly outside. As an example, they could be somewhere in your kitchen area or shower room. This will allow the cozy air from your heating system to flow there. As a result, you stop these subjected pipelines from freezing. Doing this small trick can maintain your pipes warm and limit the possibly unsafe outcomes of freezing temperatures.
Require Time to Wrap Exposed Pipes
One very easy as well as great hack to warm up freezing pipelines is to wrap them with warm towels. You can cover them initially with towels. After safeguarding them in position, you can put boiling water on the towels. Do it gradually to let the towels absorb the liquid. You can also make use of pre-soaked towels in hot water, just don't forget to wear protective handwear covers to guard your hands from the warmth.
Try a Hair Clothes Dryer or Warm Gun
When your pipelines are virtually freezing, your trusty hair dryer or warmth weapon is a godsend. If the hot towels do not aid dislodge any kind of resolving ice in your pipes, bowling hot air straight right into them might aid. Do not use various other objects that create straight flames like an impact torch. This can result in a larger disaster that you can not manage. You may end up destructive your pipelines while attempting to thaw the ice. As well as over time, you might even wind up burning your house. Be cautious!
Turn off Water When Pipes are Frozen
If you observe that your pipelines are entirely frozen or nearly nearing that phase, transform off the main water shutoff promptly. You will generally discover this in your cellar or utility room near the heater or the front wall surface closest to the street. Transform it off right away to avoid more damages.
With more water, more ice will certainly stack up, which will eventually lead to break pipelines. If you are unsure regarding the state of your pipes this winter, it is best to call a professional plumber for an assessment.
All home owners that live in warm environments have to do their ideal to winterize their pipes. Failing to do so can spell calamity like frozen, cracked, or burst pipelines. If the hot towels do not assist dislodge any type of working out ice in your pipelines, bowling hot air directly right into them might assist. Turn off the major water shutoff promptly if you observe that your pipelines are completely frozen or almost nearing that phase. With more water, 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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