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What are your ideas about How to Prevent Frozen Pipes?

All homeowners that live in temperate climates need to do their best to winterize their pipelines. It is something you must do during fall before deep winter truly starts. Failure to do so can mean disaster like frozen, cracked, or burst pipes. If the weather exterior is frightful, right here are some useful winterizing hacks to keep your plumbing system secured also.

 

Turn On the Faucets

When the temperature level drops and also it seems as if the icy temperature will last, it will certainly help to transform on your water both inside your home and also outdoors. This will certainly maintain the water moving through your plumbing systems. You'll end up wasting gallons of water this means.

 

Open Up Cupboard Doors Hiding Plumbing

It would certainly be helpful to open cabinet doors that are concealing your pipelines when it's chilly outside. They could be someplace in your kitchen area or restroom. This will permit the cozy air from your heater to circulate there. Therefore, you stop these subjected pipes from freezing. Doing this small trick can keep your pipes warm as well as limit the potentially hazardous outcomes of freezing temperature levels.

 

Require Time to Cover Exposed Water Lines

One clever and very easy hack to heat up cold pipes is to cover them with warm towels. You can likewise use pre-soaked towels in hot water, just don't forget to wear protective gloves to guard your hands from the warmth.

 

Try a Hair Dryer or Heat Gun

When your pipes are almost freezing, your reliable hair clothes dryer or warm gun is a blessing. If the hot towels do not assist dislodge any clearing up ice in your pipelines, bowling hot air straight right into them may aid. Do not utilize various other things that create straight fires like a strike torch. This can result in a bigger disaster that you can not manage. You may wind up damaging your pipes while trying to melt the ice. And also over time, you might also wind up shedding your residence. So beware!

 

Turn off Water When Pipes are Frozen

Switch off the primary water valve promptly if you observe that your pipelines are completely icy or virtually nearing that stage. You will normally discover this in your cellar or laundry room near the heating unit or the front wall surface closest to the street. Transform it off as soon as possible to prevent additional damages.
With more water, more ice will certainly load up, which will eventually lead to burst pipelines. If you are uncertain concerning the state of your pipelines this winter months, it is best to call a specialist plumber for an assessment.
All property owners who live in warm climates have to do their ideal to winterize their pipes. Failure to do so can lead to catastrophe like icy, cracked, or burst pipelines. If the hot towels do not aid remove any type of settling ice in your pipes, bowling hot air straight into them might aid. Turn off the main water valve instantly if you notice that your pipes are totally icy or virtually nearing that phase. With even more water, even more ice will pile up, which will eventually lead to rupture pipelines.

 

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.

https://www.stinenichols.com/kansas-city/planning-ahead-for-winter-plumbing/

 

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