Helpful Methods to Secure Your Plumbing and Avoid Freezing in Frigid Weather
Helpful Methods to Secure Your Plumbing and Avoid Freezing in Frigid Weather
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This post down below pertaining to Winterizing Your Pipes is particularly fascinating. Don't overlook it.
All home owners that live in pleasant climates have to do their finest to winterize their pipelines. It is something you should do throughout autumn before deep winter months really starts. Failure to do so can mean calamity like frozen, broken, or ruptured pipelines. Here are some useful winterizing hacks to maintain your plumbing system protected even if the weather condition exterior is terrible.
Attempt a Hair Dryer or Warm Gun
When your pipes are nearly freezing, your reliable hair clothes dryer or warmth gun is a godsend. If the warm towels do not assist remove any resolving ice in your pipelines, bowling warm air straight right into them might help. You might finish up damaging your pipes while attempting to thaw the ice.
Open Up Cupboard Doors Hiding Plumbing
When it's chilly outside, it would be practical to open closet doors that are masking your pipes. For example, they could be someplace in your kitchen or shower room. This will certainly allow the warm air from your heating unit to flow there. Therefore, you prevent these exposed pipes from cold. Doing this tiny trick can keep your pipes cozy and also restrict the possibly dangerous results of freezing temperature levels.
Take Some Time to Cover Exposed Water Lines
One very easy and awesome hack to warm up freezing pipelines is to cover them with cozy towels. You can additionally make use of pre-soaked towels in warm water, just don't forget to use safety gloves to safeguard your hands from the warmth.
Turn On the Faucets
When the temperature level declines as well as it seems as if the freezing temperature will certainly last, it will certainly assist to switch on your water both inside your home as well as outdoors. This will keep the water moving with your plumbing systems. Additionally, the movement will certainly slow down the cold process. Notably, there's no demand to turn it on full force. You'll end up throwing away gallons of water in this manner. Rather, aim for regarding 5 decreases per minute.
Turn off Water When Pipes are Frozen
If you see that your pipes are completely icy or almost nearing that phase, transform off the main water valve right away. You will typically find this in your basement or utility room near the heating system or the front wall closest to the street. Turn it off immediately to prevent more damage.
With even more water, more ice will certainly load up, which will eventually lead to rupture pipelines. If you are uncertain concerning the state of your pipelines this winter season, it is best to call an expert plumber for an assessment.
All home owners who live in warm environments need to do their finest to winterize their pipes. Failure to do so can lead to catastrophe like frozen, split, or ruptured pipes. If the hot towels do not aid dislodge any kind of clearing up ice in your pipes, bowling hot air directly right into them may help. Transform off the major water shutoff promptly if you observe that your pipes are totally frozen or practically nearing that phase. With more water, more ice will pile up, which will ultimately 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.
https://www.stinenichols.com/kansas-city/planning-ahead-for-winter-plumbing/
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