Mastering Pipe Winterization: Five Key Hacks to Use in Frigid Temperatures
Mastering Pipe Winterization: Five Key Hacks to Use in Frigid Temperatures
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All homeowners that live in pleasant climates should do their best to winterize their pipelines. It is something you must do throughout autumn prior to deep winter season really starts. Failure to do so can lead to catastrophe like frozen, cracked, or ruptured pipelines. If the climate outside is shocking, right here are some convenient winterizing hacks to keep your plumbing system shielded even.
Attempt a Hair Clothes Dryer or Warm Weapon
When your pipes are almost freezing, your reliable hair dryer or heat gun is a godsend. If the warm towels do not aid dislodge any working out ice in your pipelines, bowling hot air straight into them may aid. You might end up damaging your pipelines while attempting to thaw the ice.
Open Up Cabinet Doors Hiding Plumbing
When it's cold outside, it would certainly be handy to open up closet doors that are concealing your pipelines. For instance, they could be somewhere in your kitchen or bathroom. This will certainly permit the cozy air from your heating system to flow there. As a result, you prevent these exposed pipes from freezing. Doing this small trick can keep your pipes warm and limit the potentially harmful outcomes of freezing temperatures.
Take Some Time to Cover Exposed Pipes
One clever as well as simple hack to warm up icy pipes is to cover them with cozy towels. You can cover them initially with towels. After safeguarding them in position, you can pour boiling water on the towels. Do it slowly to let the towels take in the liquid. You can also make use of pre-soaked towels in hot water, simply do not fail to remember to use safety gloves to protect your hands from the warmth.
Turn On the Faucets
When the temperature level decreases and it seems as if the cold temperature will certainly last, it will assist to turn on your water both inside your home as well as outdoors. This will keep the water moving with your plumbing systems. In addition, the activity will reduce the freezing procedure. Notably, there's no requirement to transform it on full blast. You'll wind up losing gallons of water this way. Rather, go for regarding 5 decreases per min.
Turn off Water When Pipes are Frozen
Shut off the major water shutoff right away if you see that your pipes are totally frozen or virtually nearing that stage. You will normally discover this in your basement or laundry room near the heater or the front wall surface closest to the street. Turn it off today to avoid further damage.
With even more water, even more ice will certainly stack up, which will eventually lead to burst pipelines. If you are uncertain about the state of your pipelines this wintertime, it is best to call a specialist plumber for an assessment.
All house owners who live in temperate environments should do their best to winterize their pipes. Failing to do so can spell calamity like icy, broken, or ruptured pipes. If the warm towels do not aid remove any resolving ice in your pipelines, bowling hot air straight into them might assist. Turn off the major water valve immediately if you see that your pipes are completely frozen or practically nearing that stage. With even more water, even more ice will certainly stack up, which will eventually lead to rupture 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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