Helpful Methods to Protect Your Plumbing and Safeguard Freezing in Frigid Conditions
Helpful Methods to Protect Your Plumbing and Safeguard Freezing in Frigid Conditions
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Almost everyone may have their own unique conception on the subject of How to Prevent Frozen Pipes.
All house owners who live in warm environments must do their best to winterize their pipes. Failure to do so can mean catastrophe like icy, split, or burst pipes.
Attempt a Hair Dryer or Warmth Weapon
When your pipelines are nearly freezing, your trusty hair clothes dryer or warm weapon is a godsend. Bowling warm air straight into them might aid if the hot towels do not help displace any settling ice in your pipelines. Do not use other objects that produce direct flames like a blow lantern. This can result in a larger catastrophe that you can not control. You might end up destructive your pipelines while attempting to melt the ice. And in the long run, you may even end up shedding your residence. So be cautious!
Open Closet Doors Hiding Plumbing
When it's cold outside, it would be helpful to open cupboard doors that are masking your pipes. Doing this little technique can maintain your pipelines cozy and also limit the potentially hazardous results of freezing temperature levels.
Take Time to Wrap Exposed Pipeline
One great and also simple hack to heat up freezing pipes is to cover them with cozy 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 take in the fluid. You can also utilize pre-soaked towels in hot water, simply don't forget to put on protective handwear covers to guard your hands from the warm.
Turn On the Faucets
When the temperature level decreases and also it appears as if the frigid temperature will certainly last, it will certainly aid to turn on your water both inside your home as well as outdoors. This will certainly maintain the water flowing with your plumbing systems. In addition, the movement will certainly slow down the freezing procedure. Especially, there's no need to turn it on full force. You'll wind up throwing away gallons of water in this manner. Instead, aim for concerning 5 decreases per minute.
When Pipes are Frozen, close Off Water
If you notice that your pipes are completely icy or nearly nearing that stage, transform off the main water shutoff right away. You will normally discover this in your cellar or laundry room near the heating unit or the front wall surface closest to the street. Turn it off immediately to avoid further damage.
With more water, even more ice will load up, which will ultimately lead to burst pipes. If you are unsure regarding the state of your pipelines this winter season, it is best to call a specialist plumber for an evaluation.
All property owners that live in pleasant climates need to do their ideal to winterize their pipelines. Failure to do so can lead to disaster like frozen, broken, or burst pipes. If the warm towels do not aid dislodge any type of resolving ice in your pipes, bowling warm air straight right into them might aid. Transform off the major water valve instantly if you notice that your pipes are completely icy or almost nearing that stage. With more water, even more ice will certainly pile up, which will eventually 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.
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