Winter is coming, and now is the time to prepare for freezing pipes and other cold weather problems that could impact your home. A burst pipe could be a much better problem than you think. If a pipe bursts because of the cold, you could have a flood in your home, water in your walls, or water damage to your basement and foundation. Make sure that you know where all the water shut-off valves are in case there is a burst pipe. If a pipe bursts, you will need to turn the water off immediately.
How To Keep Your Pipes From Freezing
The first thing that you need to do to keep your pipes from freezing is make sure that the interior temperature of your home doesn’t go below 55 degrees. If you’re going to be out of the house for an extended period of time because you’re going on vacation, going hunting, or going to see family and friends for the holidays, set your thermostat to at least 55 degrees. It’s a great idea to get a programmable thermostat. You may also want to buy a digital thermostat that you can control with an app on your phone so that you can monitor the thermostat and the interior temperature wherever you are.
Other things that you can do to prevent frozen pipes are:
Locate the faucet that is the furthest from your main valve. For most people, that’s the tub or shower in a bathroom. Leave that faucet slightly dripping cold water. Keeping the water moving will keep your pipes from freezing.
- Insulate pipes in unheated areas.
- Open cupboards and vanities to warm pipes.
- Close inside valves that control the water supply.
- Open the outside spigots to allow them to drain water out.
- Keep the outside valve open so the water remaining in the pipe can expand without causing a break.
- When freezing weather is coming, turn off water to outside spigots and drain all water from the line.
How To Thaw A Frozen Pipe
Sometimes, there’s just no way to prevent a pipe from freezing. If you get a frozen pipe, you need to thaw it carefully before it bursts. If you have a frozen pipe, you should:
- Turn off the water immediately at the main shut-off valve.
- Open the faucet so that water will flow through the pipe once the area is melted.
- Apply heat to or around the pipe using a hair dryer.
- Once pipes are thawed, slowly turn the water back on and check all joints for leaks and other areas for cracks that may have occurred as a result of the freeze.
- Check all pipes and joints for leaks or cracks.
If you can’t reach the pipe or you don’t have the means to safely thaw it, call Yogi’s Drain Service for further assistance.
Call Yogi’s Drain Service For Plumbing Assistance
If a pipe does freeze or burst, call the experts at Yogi’s Drain Service right away. Our experienced plumbing staff can help you fix frozen or burst pipes to prevent costly water damage to your property. If you’ve experienced this issue recently, don’t delay – contact us today to get it swiftly repaired!
