Preventing frozen water pipes
TO MINIMIZE THE CHANCES OF YOUR PIPES FREEZING, THERE ARE VARIOUS THINGS THAT CAN BE DONE
- Make sure that you’ve properly drained all outside water pipes/hose faucets using their shut off valve to bleed out water remaining in the line, look around the home, for areas where your water lines may be vulnerable due to a lack of insulation or heating such as in basements, attics, garages and crawl spaces. The water lines serving or running through these areas are definitely at risk and should be insulated to avoid this from happening.
- If you do have water supply running through your garage, ensure the door remains shut during the winter months.
- For an economical option, homeowners can wrap towels around the pipes to provide insulation; however in the event that you want a more professional finish to this, there are several products on the market that can be used to help avoid the freezing of pipes, which should be handled by a plumbing professional to ensure efficiency and safety.
- In colder weather, keep bathroom and kitchen cabinet doors open to enable the hot air to circulate more freely in the home, thereby reducing the possibility of a freeze.
- If you are going away on vacation, do not completely turn your furnace off to ensure that the pipes within your home do not freeze up while you are away.
- In instances of a real deep freeze, you can run your fixtures at a very slight trickle as the temperature of the constantly running trickle is above freezing.
IN THE EVENT THAT YOUR PIPES STILL FREEZE, HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL WANT TO DO.
- The first step that should be taken is to turn off the water at the shut off valve.
- Call in a professional plumber.
