Mastering Pipe Winterization: 5 Key Hacks to Use in Frigid Temperatures
Mastering Pipe Winterization: 5 Key Hacks to Use in Frigid Temperatures
Blog Article
This post listed below in relation to Prevent Freezing and Bursting Pipes is particularly entertaining. Give it a try and draw your own conclusions.
All homeowners who stay in pleasant environments must do their best to winterize their pipes. It is something you have to do throughout autumn prior to deep wintertime genuinely starts. Failure to do so can mean catastrophe like icy, broken, or ruptured pipes. Here are some convenient winterizing hacks to maintain your plumbing system safeguarded even if the weather condition exterior is terrible.
Switch on the Faucets
When the temperature level decreases as well as it appears as if the freezing temperature will certainly last, it will aid to transform on your water both inside and also outdoors. This will keep the water flowing through your plumbing systems. You'll end up squandering gallons of water this method.
Open Closet Doors Hiding Plumbing
When it's chilly outside, it would certainly be practical to open up cabinet doors that are camouflaging your pipes. Doing this little method can maintain your pipelines warm as well as restrict the potentially hazardous results of freezing temperature levels.
Take Time to Cover Exposed Pipes
One clever as well as very easy hack to heat up freezing pipelines is to cover them with warm towels. You can also make use of pre-soaked towels in hot water, just don't neglect to put on safety handwear covers to safeguard your hands from the warm.
Try a Hair Dryer or Warm Weapon
When your pipelines are almost freezing, your dependable hair dryer or warmth gun is a blessing. Bowling warm air straight into them may aid if the warm towels do not assist displace any kind of working out ice in your pipes. However, do not make use of various other items that produce straight fires like a strike lantern. This can cause a bigger disaster that you can not regulate. You might end up damaging your pipelines while attempting to melt the ice. And also in the long run, you may also wind up shedding your house. So beware!
Shut down Water When Pipelines are Frozen
Shut off the main water valve quickly if you see that your pipelines are completely icy or almost nearing that stage. You will generally locate this in your basement or laundry room near the heating unit or the front wall closest to the street. Transform it off right now to prevent more damage.
With even more water, even more ice will load up, which will at some point lead to break pipes. If you are unsure concerning the state of your pipelines this winter, it is best to call an expert plumber for an examination.
All property owners that live in pleasant environments need to do their ideal to winterize their pipelines. Failing to do so can mean catastrophe like icy, split, or burst pipes. If the hot towels do not help remove any working out ice in your pipes, bowling warm air straight into them may help. Transform off the primary water shutoff immediately if you observe that your pipes are totally frozen or practically nearing that stage. With even 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.
https://www.stinenichols.com/kansas-city/planning-ahead-for-winter-plumbing/
I'm very fascinated by How to Prevent Frozen Pipes and I hope you enjoyed my blog posting. For those who enjoyed our blog entry please don't forget to share it. Thanks for going through it.
Book A Free Estimate Report this page