The Ultimate Guide: Five Winterizing Techniques to Avoid Pipe Bursts in Chilly Conditions
The Ultimate Guide: Five Winterizing Techniques to Avoid Pipe Bursts in Chilly Conditions
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Almost everyone has got their own opinion involving Prevent Freezing and Bursting Pipes.
All house owners who stay in pleasant climates should do their finest to winterize their pipelines. It is something you should do during autumn prior to deep winter months really starts. Failing to do so can spell disaster like icy, cracked, or ruptured pipelines. If the weather exterior is terrible, here are some helpful winterizing hacks to keep your plumbing system protected also.
Turn On the Faucets
When the temperature drops and also it appears as if the freezing temperature will certainly last, it will certainly help to turn on your water both indoors and also outdoors. This will certainly keep the water streaming via your plumbing systems. You'll finish up throwing away gallons of water this way.
Open Cupboard Doors Hiding Plumbing
When it's cool outside, it would certainly be practical to open cupboard doors that are concealing your pipes. They could be somewhere in your kitchen area or shower room. This will certainly permit the warm air from your heating unit to flow there. Because of this, you stop these subjected pipelines from freezing. Doing this small method can maintain your pipes cozy and limit the possibly hazardous end results of freezing temperature levels.
Require Time to Wrap Exposed Water Lines
One easy as well as great hack to warm up icy pipelines is to wrap them with warm towels. You can also make use of pre-soaked towels in warm water, just do not fail to remember to use protective handwear covers to secure your hands from the warmth.
Attempt a Hair Dryer or Warm Gun
When your pipelines are practically freezing, your reliable hair clothes dryer or warmth weapon is a blessing. If the hot towels do not aid displace any clearing up ice in your pipelines, bowling hot air straight right into them may help. Nonetheless, do not use other items that produce direct flames like a blow torch. This can lead to a larger calamity that you can not control. You may end up damaging your pipelines while trying to thaw the ice. And also over time, you might also wind up burning your home. Be cautious!
Turn off Water When Pipelines are Frozen
Turn off the main water shutoff instantly if you observe that your pipes are totally frozen or nearly nearing that phase. You will typically discover this in your basement or laundry room near the heating system or the front wall closest to the street. Transform it off today to prevent more damages.
With more water, more ice will load up, which will ultimately lead to burst pipelines. If you are unsure about the state of your pipes this winter months, it is best to call a professional plumber for an inspection.
All property owners that live in temperate environments must do their finest to winterize their pipes. Failing to do so can spell calamity like frozen, broken, or burst pipelines. If the hot towels do not assist dislodge any type of settling ice in your pipelines, bowling hot air straight into them may aid. Transform off the major water shutoff immediately if you discover that your pipes are completely icy or virtually nearing that phase. With more water, even more ice will certainly stack up, which will ultimately lead to burst 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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