Your Guide For Keeping Pipes From Freezing Over
The snowy winter weather brings a fun day sledding down the neighborhood hill or snowball fights in the front yard. However, winter weather can be tough on your home. Severely cold conditions can cause the water lines in your plumbing to freeze and burst, which could result in serious water damage and enduring negative effects.
Once your pipes are covered in ice, you might need to call a plumber in Lodi to handle the problem. However, there’s several tasks you can try to keep this from happening – and even just a bit of prevention can go a long way.
What Pipes Are At Risk Of Freezing
The pipes at the greatest risk of freezing are exposed water lines. Frequent locations for uncovered pipes are within attic crawlspaces, near exterior walls, in the basement or even running underneath a modular home. Water lines that are not appropriately insulated are at the highest risk.
How To Keep Pipes From Freezing In Your Home
Properly insulating exposed water lines is a great first step to keeping your pipes ice-free. You’ll generally locate most of these materials from a local plumbing company, and could also already have some someplace in your home.
Be careful not to wrap up other flammable insulation materials where they might be caught on fire. If you don’t feel confident insulating the pipes on your own, get in touch with your local plumbing services professional in Lodi to do the job.
If you do prefer to insulate the pipes on your own, common insulation materials for pipes are:
- Wraps or roll insulation: Many plumbers, hardware stores, and large retailers sell insulation – typically fiberglass, foam wraps or pipe sleeves – that you can wrap or fit around your pipes. They are sold in numerous lengths and sizes to suit the needs of your home.
- Newspaper: To a decent degree, newspapers can be used for insulation. If the weather is cooling down and you aren’t able to add insulation in time, wrap uninsulated pipes in this.
- Towels or rags: If you don’t have the chance to add insulation and don’t have any newspaper close by, wrapping especially vulnerable pipes with towels or clean rags as a last-ditch effort may be just enough to keep the cold air away from the pipes.
One other preventative step you can take to stop pipes from becoming frozen is to seal up any cracks that may permit cold air in your home. Keep an eye on the window frames, which can draw in surprisingly intense drafts. Not only should this help to stop your pipes from freezing, but it will have the extra benefit of making your home more energy efficient.
Five More Ways To Keep Your Pipes From Freezing:
- Open the cabinet doors: Opening the cabinet doors underneath the sinks and other spaces of your home with plumbing will allow more warm air from the rest of the room to get to the pipes.
- Letting water drip: Keeping the water flowing by letting your faucets drip even just a little can help prevent frozen pipes.
- Open interior doors: By opening doors for rooms or hallways, your home can be heated more equally. This is particularly important if you have a room that is frequently colder or hotter than other rooms.
- Close the garage door: The exception to the open doors tip is the garage door, which you should keep down – especially if your water lines can be found near or under the garage.
- Keep the heat steady: Experts recommend setting the thermostat at a persistent temperature and leaving it there, rather than allowing it to get cooler at night. Set it no cooler than 55 degrees.
How To Keep Pipes From Freezing In A Vacant Home
When you’re inside a house, it’s easier to realize when something isn’t right. But what additional steps can you take to keep pipes from freezing in a vacant home or vacation home when the damages from a frozen pipe may not be discovered for days or even weeks?
As with your primary residence, adding insulation to any exposed water lines, opening interior doors inside the home and winterizing the vacant home are the best steps to attempt first.
Alternative Steps To Stop Pipes From Freezing In A Vacant Home:
- Leave the heat on. Even though you aren’t currently using the home, it’s best to keep the heat on – even if you switch the thermostat down cooler than you would if you were there. As with a primary home, experts encourage keeping the temperature at no cooler than 55 degrees.
- Shut the water off and drain the lines. If you’re going to be gone for an extended period of time or are winterizing a seasonal cabin or cottage, turning the water off to the house and clearing the water out of the water lines is an easy way to prevent pipes from freezing and breaking. Try not to forget to clear the water out of any appliances, including the hot water heater, as well as the toilets. Confirm you get all the water from the pipes. If you’re unsure of how to clear out the water from the pipes, or don’t feel secure handling it on your own, a plumber in Lodi will be happy to step in.
