Learning Pipe Winterization: Five Key Hacks to Use in Frigid Temperatures
Learning Pipe Winterization: Five Key Hacks to Use in Frigid Temperatures
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What are your ideas concerning Winterizing Your Pipes?
All house owners that live in warm environments should do their ideal to winterize their pipes. Failure to do so can spell catastrophe like frozen, split, or ruptured pipelines.
Try a Hair Dryer or Warmth Gun
When your pipelines are practically freezing, your dependable hair clothes dryer or heat weapon is a blessing. If the hot towels do not aid remove any settling ice in your pipelines, bowling hot air straight right into them may aid. You may finish up damaging your pipes while attempting to thaw the ice.
Open Up Closet Doors Hiding Plumbing
It would certainly be handy to open up cupboard doors that are concealing your pipes when it's cold outside. For example, they could be someplace in your cooking area or shower room. This will permit the cozy air from your heater to flow there. Because of this, you avoid these revealed pipelines from freezing. Doing this tiny trick can keep your pipelines warm and also limit the possibly hazardous outcomes of freezing temperature levels.
Require Time to Cover Exposed Pipeline
One simple and also great hack to warm up frigid pipes is to wrap them with warm towels. You can cover them first with towels. After protecting them in position, you can put boiling water on the towels. Do it gradually to allow the towels take in the fluid. You can likewise utilize pre-soaked towels in hot water, simply don't fail to remember to wear protective gloves to safeguard your hands from the warmth.
Turn On the Faucets
When the temperature level drops and it seems as if the icy temperature level will certainly last, it will certainly aid to transform on your water both indoors and outdoors. This will keep the water flowing through your plumbing systems. You'll finish up losing gallons of water this means.
Turn off Water When Pipelines are Frozen
Shut off the major water valve immediately if you discover that your pipes are completely frozen or virtually nearing that phase. You will normally discover this in your cellar or laundry room near the heating system or the front wall closest to the street. Transform it off right away to stop additional damages.
With even more water, even more ice will certainly stack up, which will ultimately lead to burst pipelines. If you are unclear concerning the state of your pipelines this wintertime, it is best to call an expert plumber for an evaluation.
All homeowners that live in warm climates have to do their ideal to winterize their pipes. Failing to do so can mean disaster like icy, broken, or ruptured pipes. If the warm towels do not assist dislodge any type of working out ice in your pipelines, bowling hot air straight into them might help. Transform off the main water valve immediately if you discover that your pipes are completely frozen or practically nearing that stage. With more water, even more ice will certainly load up, which will ultimately lead to break 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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