My Recommended Winterizing Techniques: Several Ways to Protect Pipe Bursts
My Recommended Winterizing Techniques: Several Ways to Protect Pipe Bursts
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Have you been on the lookout for advice on How to stop pipes from freezing during the winter?
All property owners that stay in temperate climates need to do their ideal to winterize their pipes. It is something you need to do throughout fall prior to deep winter really begins. Failing to do so can mean calamity like icy, fractured, or ruptured pipelines. If the climate outside is frightful, here are some useful winterizing hacks to maintain your plumbing system protected also.
Try a Hair Dryer or Warmth Weapon
When your pipes are virtually freezing, your reliable hair clothes dryer or heat weapon is a godsend. Bowling warm air straight right into them might assist if the hot towels do not aid remove any type of settling ice in your pipelines. Do not utilize various other objects that produce direct fires like a blow lantern. This can result in a bigger disaster that you can not control. You might wind up harmful your pipes while trying to thaw the ice. And also in the future, you may even end up melting your home. Beware!
Open Up Closet Doors Hiding Plumbing
It would be useful to open up closet doors that are concealing your pipes when it's chilly outside. As an example, they could be somewhere in your kitchen or shower room. This will permit the warm air from your heater to circulate there. Consequently, you stop these exposed pipelines from freezing. Doing this little method can maintain your pipelines cozy as well as limit the potentially unsafe outcomes of freezing temperatures.
Take Some Time to Wrap Exposed Water Lines
One easy as well as great hack to warm up freezing pipelines is to cover them with cozy towels. You can cover them first with towels. After securing them in place, you can put boiling water on the towels. Do it gradually to allow the towels soak up the fluid. You can additionally use pre-soaked towels in hot water, just don't forget to wear protective gloves to safeguard your hands from the heat.
Turn On the Faucets
When the temperature decreases and also it seems as if the freezing temperature will last, it will certainly help to turn on your water both indoors and also outdoors. This will keep the water streaming through your plumbing systems. In addition, the activity will reduce the freezing procedure. Notably, there's no requirement to turn it on full blast. You'll wind up squandering gallons of water in this manner. Instead, go for concerning 5 drops per min.
When Pipelines are Frozen, close Off Water
If you discover that your pipes are completely frozen or almost nearing that phase, transform off the primary water valve right away. You will typically locate this in your cellar or laundry room near the heater or the front wall surface closest to the street. Transform it off today to avoid further damages.
With even more water, even more ice will certainly pile up, which will eventually lead to rupture pipes. If you are uncertain concerning the state of your pipelines this winter season, it is best to call a professional plumber for an evaluation.
All homeowners that live in warm climates need to do their finest to winterize their pipelines. Failure to do so can lead to catastrophe like icy, split, or ruptured pipes. If the warm towels do not aid dislodge any kind of working out ice in your pipelines, bowling warm air straight into them may aid. Transform off the main water valve quickly if you notice that your pipes are totally icy or virtually nearing that stage. With more water, more ice will pile up, which will eventually lead to rupture 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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