Winters are as cold as they come in Cedar Falls, IA, and among the most common calls we take involve frozen pipes. When the water inside your pipes freezes, it expands, putting huge pressure on the pipes themselves and often causing them to burst. When that happens, you have a huge mess on your hands: cleaning up water damage in your home as well as having to replace the burst length of pipe. You can call on us when your pipes burst to fix the problem promptly, but we believe that an ounce of prevention beats a pound of cure. Here’s a few tips on how to prevent frozen pipes this winter.
Drain and Coil
This applies more to outside plumbing than inside plumbing, but is a vital step nonetheless. Turn off the water main in your home and then turn on all of your sprinklers, hose lines and any other outside line to drain all the water out. Coil up any garden hoses and store them safely away. That will keep the cold from wreaking havoc with them.
Leave the Drains on a Trickle
Moving water prevents freezing, so it pays to leave a tiny trickle running from each faucet and shower head. It may seem like wasting water, but the small amount won’t make a huge impact on your water bill, and the damage it can prevent far outweighs the minimal cost.
Insulate Your Pipes
Pipes can be insulated by a trained plumber, helping to keep them from freezing in the winter. Ideally, you should have every pipe in your home insulated, but if you need to choose, focus on those pipes closest to outside walls or in portions of the house that aren’t insulated (like a barn or a garage).
For more help preventing frozen pipes this wither, call Dalton PHC today!