AVOID FROZEN PIPES WITH THESE 5 TIPS

by | Jan 20, 2017 | General | 0 comments

We Aren’t Out of the Wintery Woods Just Yet.

We don’t tend to get a ton of snow, or even extremely cold days or nights, but when we do, are you ready for them? Most importantly, are your pipes ready? Certain times of our winters have the potential to be brutal and cause quite a bit of damage if we are not prepared. Frozen water pipes can be an expensive and disastrous catastrophe when they burst. Here are just a few tips to keep your pipes from freezing this winter.

  1. Drain the lines. Shutting off and draining any water from exposed outdoors pipes reduces the risk that the pipes will freeze and then burst. This could cause flooding and costly water damage to your home, so step 1, drain all lines so it is not something you have to be concerned with.
  2. Garage preparation. Most garages are not heated. This means you also have to pay attention to the water lines in the garage when the temperatures drop really low. Be sure to always keep your garage door (and windows if there are any) closed throughout the winter. This way your garage is able to keep as much warmth closed in as possible. Furthermore, if there are multiple exposed water pipes in your garage you should even wrap them in insulation – which you can get from any big home improvement store – to maintain more heat and have a lesser chance of frozen pipes.
  3. Keep your home heated. Even if you happen to go out of town for a long period of time, do not turn the thermostat down in your house. A lot of people do this thinking “why should I warm a house that no one is in” and to save money. However, between your low thermostat temperatures and the freezing temperatures outside, there becomes a greater chance of frozen pipes inside your home.
  4. Check your household installation. Typically, the pipes within the walls of your house do not need additional installation due to the warmth within those 4 walls. Yet, holes in the building installation will let the freezing outside air in leading to frozen pipes.
  5. Letting your faucet drip. As a final resort, although it does waste water, you can let your faucets have a continuous drip. This will not prevent frozen pipes but it will insure they do not burst.

Now you know 5 simple and sure ways to prevent frozen pipes and the damage they can do. Keep your pies intact!