Winter Plumbing Preps
Winter is on its way! Now is the time to start thinking about your household plumbing before the cold weather hits. When the temperatures drop below freezing, your water pipes could freeze and break. Breaking pipes can lead to leaks, costly repairs, and even significant flooding. It doesn’t take extreme weather to cause issues if you have vulnerable pipes.
Here are some quick tips to help you prep your plumbing for the winter weather:
- Know your pipes.
Most homeowners don’t know where every foot of pipes is in their home. While most of the pipes may be insulated and protected from the weather at one spot in your home, they could be exposed to the elements further down the line. If you’re unsure, it’s a good idea to get a professional plumber to look for potential at-risk pipes before winter hits.
- Insulate, insulate, insulate.
If you’ve found some pipes that are at risk from the cold, protect them with insulation. For pipes that are less risky, just wrapping them in newspaper or cloth can make a big difference. For colder areas, or pipes directly exposed to the elements, it’s best to get foam tube insulation or even heated tape specially designed for pipes.
- Open up your cabinets.
If you know the weather is going to take a turn for the worse, open up your under-sink cabinets overnight so that warm air can get to the pipes. This can be an important preventative measure when the weather gets below freezing outdoors.
- Keep ’em dripping.
Keep your faucets dripping at night. Although this will waste a little water, and may make your water bill a little higher for the month, those costs far outweigh what you’d have to spend on repairs.
- Heat ’em up.
If you know that your pipes have frozen, you may still be able to prevent damage by warming them up. The best way to do this is by using a hair dryer or setting up an electric space heater to thaw the frozen section. Never use an open flame, as that could cause melted pipes and house fires.
- Know your shut-off valve.
If worse comes to worst and you do have a broken, frozen pipe, the ability to shut off the water supply to your home could save you from costly flood damage & repairs. Make sure you know where your main water shut-off valve is located.
If you’re uncertain about your plumbing, one of our professional plumbers can help give you and your family peace of mind. Call A#1 Air Plumbing today!
