The holiday season can be a hectic time to say the least,
but that doesn’t mean it’s time to forget about caring for your home. The
Maynard Man provides a wide range of advice to help you and your family get
through each season as comfortably and healthfully as possible. One piece of
advice is to prevent frozen pipes.
Pipe freezing on its own actually is not the detrimental
part. The thawing process is. It creates a negative pressure buildup in your
plumbing, leading to burst pipes—and subsequent property damage, plus potential
flooding. So what tips can you follow to avoid this messy and inconvenient
problem?
Tip #1: Open Outdoor Faucets
When temps drop below 30°, your whole plumbing system is at
risk. Those pipes most vulnerable to
freezing are, naturally, the ones that lead or face outside.
If you have outdoor faucets used for sprinklers or hoses,
ensure that you turn off water flow to these points. Open the faucets, too, to
drain any excess water, and leave them open. You may also consider purchasing
some affordable insulated caps for your faucet openings and hoses.
Tip #2: Disconnect Hoses
Speaking of hoses—they’re vulnerable too! Be sure to
disconnect them before temperature drop too low, let them drain, and then keep
them in a relatively well insulated and dry location such as your garage or a
shed.
Tip #3: Insulate Pipes
If your pipes don’t lead to the outdoors you don’t have to
worry about them, right? Not quite!
The Maynard Man insists that you consider what other parts
of your plumbing could be susceptible to freezing. This can include the pipes
in your basement or pipes that run through the walls that face outdoors.
To protect these pipes
from freezing, the best thing you can do is insulate them. You can do this on
your own or you can purchase special insulated sleeves for your pipes online or
at your local hardware store.
This helps to keep the temperature of the water in your
pipes from dropping too low—the most important factor you want to keep in mind
here is that the pipes should be as warm and insulated as possible.
Tip #4: Keep Cabinets Open
The plumbing fixtures in your bathrooms and kitchen areas
will have pipes that are often exposed underneath the sinks. By keeping your
cabinets under the sinks cracked open, you allow the heat from your home’s HVAC
system to reach them, helping to prevent pipe freezing in this location, too.
“My Pipes Froze Anyway, Now What?”
This is an unfortunate situation, but not an insurmountable
one—especially with The Maynard Man on the job!
It’s vital that you not try to thaw your pipes on your
own—as we mentioned above the thawing process can create burst pipes, and we’d
like to help you avoid that. Our professional plumbers are here to help!
Looking for a trustworthy Hendersonville plumber? Need a Helping Hand, Call the Maynard Man! Contact us today for all your plumbing needs.
