Winterizing Your Home
With temperatures dropping, it is a good idea to start thinking about the steps you need to take to winterize your plumbing. But what do you need to do to winterize your plumbing? Here, we will get into why it is important to winterize your plumbing and what steps need to be taken.
Water will expand when it freezes and becomes ice. This expansion causes pressure within pipes, which can lead to extensive damage. Winterizing plumbing is especially recommended when a house will be vacant for a long period of time and no water will be running through the pipes.
Winterizing Your Plumbing
Shut off the water to any exterior hose bibs and drain the exterior section of the pipe and faucet.
Remove garden hoses attached to hose bibs or outdoor faucets.
Open the cabinet doors to allow the heated air from the room to reach the pipes inside the cabinet.
Insulate exposed pipes. You can use insulation sleeves, slip-on foam pipe insulation, or simply wrap them. Whatever you do, don’t leave any gaps uninsulated because the cold air can affect your pipes in these spaces.
If your home is heated with a boiler, be sure to have yearly boiler maintenance done. Regular maintenance visits can help identify early warning signs of potential problems. They can detect signs of wear and tear, corrosion, leaks, or unusual noises that may indicate underlying issues. By catching these problems early on, you can prevent major breakdowns and address minor repairs before they become more extensive and costly.
Heat unheated areas with a permanent heater to keep the temperature above freezing, or about 50 degrees F.
Keep your home constantly heated.
Insulate all crawl spaces, and block all vents that may lead to the outside of your home to prevent warm air from leaking out and cold air from creeping in.
Additional Tips to Keep Your Home Warm
Here are some extra tips to keep your house warm during the cold winter months.
Clean your gutters
Reverse ceiling fans
Insulate your windows
Insulate your electrical outlets
Hopefully, these tips can help keep you warm and your pipes intact. If you need help with winterizing your plumbing, or if you’ve suffered from cracked pipes, give Metcalf Plumbing Service a call!
