Easy Steps To Protect Your Home From Frozen Pipes This Winter

Frozen pipes can easily cost you thousands of dollars by ruining building materials and personal property

. Fortunately, you can prepare your pipes for freezing temperatures with a few basic supplies and a basic understanding of your plumbing system.

In order to properly winterize your home, you need to first identify pipes and faucets that are more likely to freeze and burst. Ideally, you should do this before temperatures drop below freezing.

Water lines in heated areas will be fine in the winter, but you can buy insulation to save some money by keeping them from losing too much heat in chilly weather. If your home has an unheated basement or other unheated areas, look for exposed pipes and faucets and keep them covered with plastic foam or professional pipe covers. Your objective is to provide a little bit of extra warmth, but you do not need to go overboard here a small amount of insulation goes a long ways.

If you are not planning on running a faucet regularly during the winter, turn it on and allow it to drip slightly. This relieves the pressure in the line, which should help to prevent the pipe from bursting. You do not need water pouring out of the faucet, however. Only let indoor faucets drip.

For heated areas, keep your thermostat keyed to 55 degrees Fahrenheit or higher at all times. If you are planning on leaving your house for a few days, leave the heat running to avoid coming home to a huge mess. Expose your pipes to the heated air by opening cabinets if you are lowering the thermostat to anywhere near 55 degrees. If you are going to leave for more than a few days, turn off the water line and completely drain the water by leaving the faucets running. You should also turn off the electricity for your water heater or temporarily disconnect your gas supply line, depending on whether your home has an electric or gas water heater.

Once you are done with the inside of your home, head outside. Cover vents, insulate exterior pipes and drain all of your hoses. If you have got any expensive electrical pumps, follow the manufacturer instructions to winterize them. Don not run them in extreme cold or you could face a hefty repair bill in the spring.

Finally, make sure that you know what to do if your pipes burst. You should know where your home's water shutoff valve is located. Practice turning it on and off once so that you do not encounter any unpleasant surprises during an emergency. Keep the number of a reputable flood restoration company by your phone and make sure that your family members know what to do if a pipe bursts while you are away. If you take the time to winterize your pipes, you probably will not have anything to worry about, but preparing yourself for an emergency takes only a few minutes and could save you thousands of dollars in water damage.

by: Matt Buchanan

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