Cold Weather Pipe Protection: Five Hacks to Keep Them Intact in Freezing Temperatures
Cold Weather Pipe Protection: Five Hacks to Keep Them Intact in Freezing Temperatures
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We've found this article about How to stop pipes from freezing during the winter down the page on the internet and thought it made sense to talk about it with you on my blog.
All property owners who live in pleasant climates have to do their finest to winterize their pipelines. It is something you need to do during autumn prior to deep winter absolutely begins. Failing to do so can mean disaster like icy, broken, or ruptured pipes. If the weather condition exterior is frightful, below are some handy winterizing hacks to maintain your plumbing system safeguarded also.
Try a Hair Dryer or Warm Weapon
When your pipelines are nearly freezing, your reliable hair dryer or warm weapon is a blessing. If the hot towels do not help dislodge any settling ice in your pipes, bowling warm air directly into them may help. You might end up damaging your pipes while trying to melt the ice.
Open Cabinet Doors Hiding Plumbing
When it's cold outside, it would be valuable to open up cupboard doors that are concealing your pipelines. As an example, they could be someplace in your cooking area or shower room. This will certainly enable the warm air from your heating unit to circulate there. Consequently, you avoid these exposed pipelines from cold. Doing this little technique can keep your pipelines cozy as well as limit the possibly hazardous results of freezing temperatures.
Take Some Time to Cover Exposed Water Lines
One clever and also very easy hack to warm up icy pipelines is to wrap them with warm towels. You can cover them first with towels. After protecting them in position, you can pour boiling water on the towels. Do it gradually to let the towels absorb the fluid. You can additionally make use of pre-soaked towels in hot water, just do not neglect to put on protective gloves to secure your hands from the warm.
Turn On the Faucets
When the temperature declines and also it seems as if the frigid temperature level will last, it will aid to switch on your water both inside as well as outdoors. This will maintain the water streaming with your plumbing systems. On top of that, the motion will decrease the freezing procedure. Significantly, there's no requirement to transform it on full blast. You'll end up throwing away gallons of water this way. Instead, go for about 5 decreases per min.
Shut Off Water When Pipelines are Frozen
Turn off the primary water valve quickly if you discover that your pipes are totally icy or almost nearing that stage. You will usually find this in your basement or laundry room near the heater or the front wall closest to the street. Transform it off right now to avoid additional damage.
With even more water, even more ice will pile up, which will eventually lead to break pipelines. If you are not sure regarding the state of your pipes this winter months, it is best to call a specialist plumber for an assessment.
All house owners who live in temperate environments need to do their best to winterize their pipelines. Failing to do so can mean calamity like frozen, broken, or ruptured pipelines. If the hot towels do not help displace any type of working out ice in your pipes, bowling warm air directly right into them might help. Turn off the major water valve instantly if you see that your pipelines are completely icy or almost nearing that stage. With even more water, more ice will certainly pile up, which will at some point lead to rupture 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/
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