HOW TO PROTECT YOUR PIPES FROM BURSTING IN FRIGID WEATHER: TOP 5 WINTER HACKS

How to Protect Your Pipes From Bursting in Frigid Weather: Top 5 Winter Hacks

How to Protect Your Pipes From Bursting in Frigid Weather: Top 5 Winter Hacks

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Just how do you actually feel in regards to Winterizing Your Pipes?


How to stop pipes from freezing during the winter
All house owners that stay in warm environments should do their finest to winterize their pipes. It is something you need to do during autumn prior to deep winter months genuinely begins. Failure to do so can lead to calamity like frozen, split, or burst pipes. Here are some handy winterizing hacks to maintain your plumbing system shielded even if the weather exterior is frightful.

Turn On the Faucets


When the temperature drops as well as it seems as if the frigid temperature will certainly last, it will assist to activate your water both inside your home and also outdoors. This will certainly keep the water moving with your plumbing systems. Additionally, the activity will reduce the cold procedure. Notably, there's no demand to turn it on full force. You'll end up wasting gallons of water in this manner. Instead, aim for regarding 5 drops per minute.

Open Cabinet Doors Hiding Plumbing


When it's cold outside, it would certainly be handy to open cabinet doors that are masking your pipelines. Doing this tiny technique can keep your pipelines cozy and limit the potentially unsafe results of freezing temperature levels.

Take Time to Cover Exposed Pipeline


One easy and also cool hack to warm up freezing pipes is to wrap them with cozy towels. You can cover them initially with towels. After securing them in position, you can pour boiling water on the towels. Do it slowly to allow the towels take in the liquid. You can additionally make use of pre-soaked towels in hot water, just don't fail to remember to use safety gloves to protect your hands from the heat.

Attempt a Hair Clothes Dryer or Heat Gun


When your pipelines are nearly freezing, your dependable hair clothes dryer or heat gun is a blessing. Bowling warm air directly into them may help if the warm towels do not assist remove any type of working out ice in your pipelines. Nonetheless, do not use other things that generate straight flames like a strike torch. This can result in a larger calamity that you can not control. You may end up damaging your pipes while trying to thaw the ice. And also in the long run, you might also wind up burning your residence. So be cautious!

When Pipelines are Frozen, shut Off Water


If you observe that your pipes are entirely icy or almost nearing that phase, transform off the primary water valve right away. You will generally locate this in your basement or utility room near the heating unit or the front wall closest to the street. Turn it off right away to prevent additional damage.
Do not fail to remember to shut external water resources, too, such as your connection for the yard house. Doing this will certainly stop extra water from filling up your plumbing system. With even more water, even more ice will load up, which will ultimately lead to rupture pipelines. If you are not sure regarding the state of your pipelines this winter, it is best to call an expert plumber for an evaluation. Taking this proactive technique can save you countless bucks out of commission.
All house owners who live in pleasant environments need to do their best to winterize their pipes. Failing to do so can mean disaster like icy, fractured, or ruptured pipelines. If the hot towels do not help dislodge any kind of resolving ice in your pipes, bowling hot air directly right into them may aid. Turn off the major water valve right away if you see that your pipelines are completely frozen or virtually nearing that stage. With even more water, more ice will stack up, which will at some point lead to burst 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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How to stop pipes from freezing during the winter

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