Top Ways to Keep Your Plumbing From Bursting in Cold Temperatures
Top Ways to Keep Your Plumbing From Bursting in Cold Temperatures
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Just about everyone may have their own individual opinion about How to stop pipes from freezing during the winter.
All house owners that reside in temperate climates have to do their ideal to winterize their pipes. It is something you have to do during autumn before deep winter season truly starts. Failing to do so can mean disaster like frozen, cracked, or ruptured pipelines. If the weather condition outside is shocking, here are some helpful winterizing hacks to maintain your plumbing system shielded even.
Attempt a Hair Clothes Dryer or Warm Gun
When your pipes are virtually freezing, your trusty hair dryer or warm weapon is a godsend. Bowling warm air straight into them might assist if the warm towels do not help remove any type of clearing up ice in your pipelines. Do not utilize various other objects that generate direct flames like a strike lantern. This can lead to a larger disaster that you can not manage. You might wind up damaging your pipelines while attempting to thaw the ice. And also over time, you may also wind up burning your residence. So beware!
Open Up Cabinet Doors Hiding Plumbing
When it's cool outside, it would be handy to open up cupboard doors that are camouflaging your pipelines. For instance, they could be somewhere in your kitchen or shower room. This will allow the cozy air from your heating system to distribute there. Therefore, you prevent these exposed pipelines from cold. Doing this little technique can keep your pipes warm as well as restrict the potentially harmful outcomes of freezing temperatures.
Take Time to Cover Exposed Water Lines
One nifty as well as very easy hack to warm up frigid pipes is to wrap them with warm towels. You can also use pre-soaked towels in warm water, simply do not neglect to use safety handwear covers to safeguard your hands from the heat.
Switch on the Faucets
When the temperature declines as well as it appears as if the cold temperature will certainly last, it will certainly aid to turn on your water both inside your home and outdoors. This will certainly maintain the water moving via your plumbing systems. You'll end up throwing away gallons of water this way.
Shut down Water When Pipelines are Frozen
If you observe that your pipes are completely frozen or practically nearing that phase, transform off the major water valve promptly. You will generally find this in your cellar or utility room near the heater or the front wall closest to the street. Turn it off as soon as possible to avoid additional damage.
With even more water, even more ice will stack up, which will eventually lead to rupture pipes. If you are unsure concerning the state of your pipes this winter months, it is best to call a professional plumber for an inspection.
All house owners who live in temperate climates must do their finest to winterize their pipes. Failing to do so can mean calamity like frozen, broken, or ruptured pipes. If the hot towels do not assist displace any type of settling ice in your pipes, bowling warm air straight right into them may aid. Transform off the major water shutoff instantly if you discover that your pipes are entirely frozen or practically nearing that phase. With more water, more ice will stack up, which will ultimately lead to break 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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