The article author is making a number of great points relating to How to Prevent Frozen Pipes in general in the content further down.
All home owners that live in temperate environments must do their finest to winterize their pipelines. Failure to do so can spell catastrophe like icy, broken, or ruptured pipelines.
Switch on the Faucets
When the temperature level decreases and it seems as if the cold temperature will last, it will certainly help to activate your water both indoors as well as outdoors. This will certainly keep the water streaming via your plumbing systems. In addition, the activity will reduce the cold procedure. Especially, there's no demand to turn it on full blast. You'll end up losing gallons of water in this manner. Instead, aim for concerning 5 drops per minute.
Open Cupboard Doors Hiding Plumbing
It would certainly be useful to open cupboard doors that are concealing your pipelines when it's cool outside. For example, they could be someplace in your kitchen or restroom. This will certainly permit the cozy air from your heating unit to flow there. As a result, you avoid these exposed pipes from freezing. Doing this tiny method can maintain your pipelines cozy and also limit the possibly harmful end results of freezing temperatures.
Take Time to Cover Exposed Pipes
One simple and awesome hack to heat up freezing pipes is to cover them with cozy towels. You can cover them initially with towels. After protecting them in place, you can put boiling water on the towels. Do it slowly to allow the towels take in the liquid. You can also make use of pre-soaked towels in hot water, simply don't forget to wear safety gloves to protect your hands from the heat.
Try a Hair Clothes Dryer or Warm Weapon
When your pipelines are practically freezing, your trusty hair dryer or warmth gun is a godsend. If the hot towels do not help dislodge any working out ice in your pipes, bowling hot air directly into them may aid. You might end up destructive your pipes while trying to melt the ice.
Turn off Water When Pipelines are Frozen
Turn off the primary water shutoff immediately if you notice that your pipes are totally frozen or virtually nearing that stage. You will normally locate this in your cellar or laundry room near the heating system or the front wall closest to the street. Transform it off right now to stop more damages.
Do not neglect to close external water sources, too, such as your hookup for the garden home. Doing this will avoid extra water from filling your plumbing system. Regrettably, with more water, even more ice will certainly pile up, which will eventually result in burst pipes. It is best to call an expert plumber for an assessment if you are not sure regarding the state of your pipes this winter. Taking this proactive approach can save you hundreds of bucks out of commission.
All house owners who live in temperate environments need to do their best to winterize their pipelines. Failure to do so can spell calamity like frozen, cracked, or ruptured pipes. If the hot towels do not help displace any type of settling ice in your pipelines, bowling hot air directly right into them may help. Transform off the primary water shutoff promptly if you observe that your pipes are entirely icy or almost nearing that phase. With more water, even more ice will certainly load up, which will eventually 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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