Effective Tips for Winterizing Your Plumbing and Safeguarding Against Freezing Temperatures
Effective Tips for Winterizing Your Plumbing and Safeguarding Against Freezing Temperatures
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What're your concepts on How to Prevent Frozen Pipes?
All homeowners that live in temperate environments need to do their ideal to winterize their pipelines. It is something you should do throughout fall before deep winter really begins. Failure to do so can spell catastrophe like icy, split, or burst pipes. If the weather condition outside is terrible, right here are some helpful winterizing hacks to maintain your plumbing system safeguarded even.
Try a Hair Dryer or Heat Gun
When your pipes are almost freezing, your dependable hair clothes dryer or heat weapon is a godsend. If the hot towels do not aid displace any type of resolving ice in your pipelines, bowling hot air straight right into them might aid. Do not make use of other objects that create direct flames like an impact lantern. This can cause a larger disaster that you can not manage. You might end up harmful your pipelines while trying to thaw the ice. And also in the long run, you might even wind up burning your house. Be cautious!
Open Up Cabinet Doors Hiding Plumbing
It would be useful to open cabinet doors that are masking your pipelines when it's cool outside. For instance, they could be someplace in your kitchen area or restroom. This will certainly enable the cozy air from your heating unit to flow there. As a result, you avoid these exposed pipes from cold. Doing this tiny technique can keep your pipelines warm as well as limit the possibly hazardous outcomes of freezing temperatures.
Require Time to Cover Exposed Water Lines
One very easy as well as nifty hack to warm up frigid pipes is to cover them with cozy towels. You can also make use of pre-soaked towels in hot water, simply don't neglect to use safety gloves to secure your hands from the heat.
Switch on the Faucets
When the temperature decreases and also it seems as if the frigid temperature level will last, it will aid to transform on your water both inside and also outdoors. This will certainly keep the water moving with your plumbing systems. You'll end up squandering gallons of water this way.
When Pipes are Frozen, close Off Water
If you discover that your pipelines are completely frozen or nearly nearing that stage, turn off the primary water valve immediately. You will usually locate this in your cellar or utility room near the heater or the front wall closest to the street. Turn it off immediately to prevent additional damage.
With more water, even more ice will load up, which will ultimately lead to rupture pipes. If you are unsure concerning the state of your pipelines this winter, it is best to call a specialist plumber for an assessment.
All home owners that live in pleasant climates have to do their ideal to winterize their pipelines. Failing to do so can spell disaster like frozen, split, or burst pipes. If the hot towels do not help dislodge any working out ice in your pipes, bowling hot air straight right into them may aid. Transform off the primary water shutoff promptly if you notice that your pipes are totally icy or virtually nearing that phase. With even more water, even more ice will load 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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