Prevent Frozen Pipes this Winter

Winter is when many homeowners experience problems like frozen pipes. When pipes freeze, they can leak or burst open to cause a flood. As a homeowner, there are many things you can do to prevent your pipes from freezing i. Taking action to protect your home can help you avoid plumbing problems saving hundreds or thousands of dollars to repair.

Know When to Leave Water Running

Cold weather can sneak up on you. Knowing when cold weather is coming is vitally important so you can get the draw on protecting your pipes. Make a habit of watching the nightly weather report on TV, or check the weather app on your smartphone on a daily basis. Watch for nighttime temperatures dipping into the 20’s. When it gets this cold, leave your water running at just a trickle. Even the smallest movement of water in these pipes will help prevent freezing.

Promote Air Flow

Your home might be heated, but the space under the cabinets and in the closets are probably cut off from this warm air. Good air flow can help keep your pipes warm. If your home has pipes located behind cabinet drawers and in closets, keep the doors to those spaces open on cold nights. This can promote air flow and prevent your pipes from getting too cold.

Insulate Your Pipes

Insulation is another smart way of preventing your pipes from freezing. Pipe insulation is especially valuable on those located around the exterior walls of your home. To get started, purchase insulation sleeves of the proper diameter and cut them down to the right lengths using a utility knife. Remove the adhesive backing inside the sleeves to attach them to the pipes.  

Keep Heat Set To 55 Degrees Or Higher

Many people find it tempting to turn off their heat when they leave for winter vacation, but they might not realize that this can leave your indoor pipes vulnerable to cold air. Setting the temperature to 55 degrees or higher, even while you’re away, can prevent the pipes from freezing.

And if you’re leaving for a long vacation, turn off the water supply and drain the water from your pipes and water heater. For more information, check out our previous post on how to winterize your vacation home.  

Put Away The Garden Hose

Water that freezes into your garden hose can back up into the faucet, causing the faucet and pipe to freeze. To prevent this from happening, unscrew your garden hose and put it away in your garage. Know When to Call a Plumber

Frozen pipes are easy to spot. For example, when a pipe freezes, it stops functioning, so faucets attached to frozen pipes simply won’t work. If you wake up after a cold night to find that your sink faucet or bathtub faucet won’t turn on, this is an indication that the pipes have frozen.

At Terry’s Plumbing, we help customers deal with problems like this. We can thaw frozen pipes and repair burst pipes. We also install pipe insulation for homeowners in need. If you’re concerned about freezing pipes this winter and want to protect your home from problems, contact Terry’s Plumbing today at 412-364-9114.