Clever Strategies to Secure Your Pipes in Cold Weather
Clever Strategies to Secure Your Pipes in Cold Weather
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Just how do you feel when it comes to How to Prevent Frozen Pipes?
All home owners that live in temperate environments need to do their finest to winterize their pipes. Failing to do so can mean disaster like icy, cracked, or ruptured pipes.
Try a Hair Dryer or Warm Weapon
When your pipes are practically freezing, your reliable hair clothes dryer or warm gun is a godsend. If the hot towels do not help dislodge any settling ice in your pipes, bowling hot air straight into them may assist. Nevertheless, do not use various other objects that generate direct flames like an impact torch. This can cause a bigger calamity that you can not control. You may end up destructive your pipelines while attempting to thaw the ice. And over time, you might also end up melting your home. So beware!
Open Cabinet Doors Hiding Plumbing
It would be practical to open up cabinet doors that are masking your pipes when it's cold outside. For instance, they could be someplace in your kitchen or restroom. This will certainly enable the warm air from your heater to circulate there. Because of this, you protect against these exposed pipes from freezing. Doing this small method can keep your pipelines warm and limit the potentially harmful end results of freezing temperatures.
Require Time to Wrap Exposed Water Lines
One cool and very easy hack to heat up cold pipes is to wrap them with cozy towels. You can cover them first with towels. After protecting them in place, you can put boiling water on the towels. Do it gradually to allow the towels absorb the fluid. You can also use pre-soaked towels in hot water, simply do not fail to remember to use protective gloves to protect your hands from the warm.
Turn On the Faucets
When the temperature decreases and also it appears as if the freezing temperature will certainly last, it will assist to switch on your water both inside your home and also outdoors. This will certainly keep the water moving through your plumbing systems. On top of that, the movement will reduce the cold procedure. Notably, there's no need to turn it on full force. You'll end up squandering gallons of water in this manner. Rather, go for about 5 declines per min.
Shut down Water When Pipelines are Frozen
If you observe that your pipes are entirely frozen or nearly nearing that stage, turn off the main water shutoff instantly. You will typically locate this in your basement or laundry room near the heating system or the front wall surface closest to the street. Turn it off as soon as possible to avoid further damage.
With more water, more ice will pile up, which will at some point lead to break pipelines. If you are not sure about the state of your pipes this winter season, it is best to call an expert plumber for an assessment.
All property owners who live in temperate environments have to do their ideal to winterize their pipelines. Failing to do so can lead to disaster like icy, cracked, or ruptured pipelines. If the hot towels do not assist displace any kind of settling ice in your pipes, bowling hot air directly right into them might help. Transform off the primary water valve right away if you notice that your pipes are completely icy or practically nearing that phase. With more water, more ice will pile up, which will at some point 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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