Winter can be a difficult time of year, especially when it comes to keeping your home’s pipes safe. Freezing temperatures, snow, and ice can wreak havoc on your home’s plumbing system and cause serious damage. Thankfully, by taking the right steps you can protect your pipes and keep them safe during the winter months. Read on to learn more about how to keep your home's pipes safe during winter.
Insulate Your Pipes
The first step in protecting your pipes from the cold is to insulate them. Wrapping your pipes with insulation will help keep them from freezing and bursting when temperatures dip below 32 degrees. You can purchase pre-made pipe insulation or make your own using foam rubber sleeves or even newspaper (although newspaper may not be as effective). Make sure to cover all of the exposed water lines in your home, including those that run through unheated areas like basements and crawl spaces.
Drain Outdoor Faucets
If you have outdoor faucets, make sure to drain them before winter arrives. When water freezes, it expands—which means if a faucet is still full of water when temperatures drop below freezing, the water will expand and could cause a burst pipe or other damage. To drain an outdoor faucet: locate the valve inside the house that controls it; turn off the valve; open up the outside tap and allow all remaining water to escape; then close the outside tap securely.
Keep Water Moving
Keeping a small stream of water flowing through your pipes helps protect against freezing because moving water doesn't freeze as easily as still water does. If you live in an area where temperatures dip below freezing regularly, consider leaving one or two taps on at a very low flow rate throughout winter. This will ensure that there's always some movement in your pipes which should help prevent them from freezing up completely. Just make sure that you check for any leaks occasionally so that you don't end up wasting too much water (or money).
Following these tips should help you protect your home's pipes against winter weather so you don't have to worry about expensive repairs later down the line. If you're ever concerned about potential issues with frozen pipes or any other plumbing problems in general, don't hesitate to call a professional plumber, like those at Affordable Plumbing Maintenance, who can come out and take a look at what needs fixing right away. With their help and expertise, they'll be able to get everything back up and running in no time.
