Clever Winterizing Solutions: A Handful of Techniques to Defend Against Pipe Bursts
Clever Winterizing Solutions: A Handful of Techniques to Defend Against Pipe Bursts
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All property owners that reside in temperate climates need to do their ideal to winterize their pipelines. It is something you must do throughout fall before deep winter really starts. Failing to do so can spell catastrophe like icy, broken, or ruptured pipes. If the weather condition exterior is shocking, here are some handy winterizing hacks to keep your plumbing system secured also.
Activate the Faucets
When the temperature decreases and it appears as if the frigid temperature will certainly last, it will help to turn on your water both inside and also outdoors. This will certainly maintain the water flowing via your plumbing systems. You'll end up squandering gallons of water this means.
Open Cabinet Doors Hiding Plumbing
When it's chilly outside, it would certainly be handy to open cabinet doors that are concealing your pipelines. Doing this small technique can maintain your pipes cozy and also restrict the potentially dangerous results of freezing temperatures.
Require Time to Wrap Exposed Piping
One simple and also cool hack to heat up frigid pipelines is to wrap them with warm towels. You can cover them initially with towels. After safeguarding them in place, you can put boiling water on the towels. Do it slowly to let the towels soak up the liquid. You can additionally make use of pre-soaked towels in hot water, just do not neglect to wear protective handwear covers to safeguard your hands from the warmth.
Attempt a Hair Clothes Dryer or Warm Gun
When your pipes are practically freezing, your dependable hair dryer or warmth gun is a godsend. If the hot towels do not aid dislodge any resolving ice in your pipes, bowling hot air directly right into them may assist. Do not utilize other objects that produce direct flames like an impact lantern. This can cause a larger calamity that you can not regulate. You might wind up harmful your pipelines while attempting to melt the ice. And also in the long run, you may also wind up burning your home. Be cautious!
When Pipes are Frozen, close Off Water
Switch off the primary water valve promptly if you see that your pipes are totally frozen or practically nearing that phase. You will typically find this in your cellar or laundry room near the heating system or the front wall closest to the street. Turn it off right now to avoid additional damage.
Don't fail to remember to shut external water resources, as well, such as your hookup for the yard house. Doing this will certainly avoid extra water from filling up your plumbing system. However, with even more water, more ice will certainly pile up, which will ultimately lead to burst pipelines. If you are unsure concerning the state of your pipelines this winter, it is best to call a specialist plumber for an assessment. Taking this aggressive strategy can save you thousands of bucks in repairs.
All homeowners that live in pleasant environments have to do their best to winterize their pipelines. Failure to do so can spell catastrophe like icy, fractured, or burst pipelines. If the hot towels do not aid remove any kind of settling ice in your pipes, bowling warm air straight right into them may aid. Transform off the major water valve right away if you observe that your pipes are entirely frozen or virtually nearing that stage. With more water, even more ice will pile up, which will at some point lead to burst 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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