The temperature drops down during winter months thus causing your pipes to freeze. As we all know, water solidifies when it’s cold and once they do, it expands. The problem is that if the water inside your plumbing lines freeze and expand, it may cause the very tubes to crack, break or burst. Aside from the inconvenience of not being able to use the affected plumbing fixtures properly, frozen pipes are also costly to repair. So how do you go about preventing such a problem? Read on and learn these awesome tips!
1. Drain your swimming pool as well as your water sprinkler supply pipes according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Remember to be very careful when using antifreeze because it contains chemical content that is harmful to living organisms.
2. Make sure that your water lines are all insulated especially the ones that are located in cold areas. These include crawl spaces, attics, basements, bathroom cabinets and garages.
3. If you have water pipes in the garage, make sure that you’ll leave the door closed to prevent cold air from coming in.
4. Outdoor hoses (those that you use for cleaning and watering the plants) should be removed, drained and stored properly. You also have to close the valves that provide water to outdoor hose bibs. The bibs should also be drained to prevent them from freezing, too.
5. Let the water drip from the faucets that are supplied by outdoor water lines. The continuous flow of water will prevent the pipe from freezing.
6. Warm air should be allowed to circulate around plumbing lines. This can be achieved by opening bathroom and kitchen cabinet doors.
7. If you’re going away on a vacation, remember to leave your home’s heating system on. The temperature should be kept at 55 degrees Fahrenheit or over.
8. Instead of saving energy at night by lowering the thermostat of your heater, just leave it on at the same temp. Doing so might incur higher charges on your utility bill but at least you won’t have to pay for expensive frozen pipe repairs.
9. You can also take advantage of heating cables to prevent pipes from freezing. These are available in plumbing supply shops and the installation instructions are pretty easy to follow.
10. For larger areas that need insulation, you can use foam boards. They may seem a bit difficult to cut and install at first but the task is actually very doable.
Learn how to prevent frozen pipes in your home. If you ever experience this kind of plumbing problem, just call the most trusted Washington DC plumber to fix the pipes for you! Plumbers 911 Washington DC delivers exceptional pipe repair services in Washington DC as well as drain cleaning, faucet repair, leak detection, camera sewer inspection and many more! Call us now at (877) 932-5325 to schedule a service!
Learn how to thaw frozen pipes! Watch this video now.