With cold weather quickly approaching, now is the time to take the necessary steps to protect your pipes from potential damage. If you don’t take the right precautions, you could be facing a major repair bill and a huge inconvenience. Fortunately, there are several simple steps you can take to help prevent cold weather damage to your pipes. Here are six steps to help you protect your pipes and keep them running smoothly all winter long. From wrapping exposed pipes to draining water from your outdoor faucets, these steps will help ensure that your pipes are ready for whatever the winter brings.
The most important thing you can do to protect your pipes from cold weather damage is to wrap them. Wrapping exposed pipes will help prevent them from freezing, which can cause serious damage that may cost thousands of dollars to repair. Pipes in unheated areas, like unheated garages or crawlspaces, are particularly susceptible to freezing, so make sure to wrap them as soon as the weather turns cold. If the damage from freezing pipes isn’t caught in time, it can extend beyond the pipe itself and cause water damage to the surrounding walls and flooring. The best way to prevent this from happening is to wrap your pipes to keep them warm. There are several ways to go about this, but we recommend using heat tape, an electric blanket, or wrapping the pipes with insulation.
Of course, the best way to protect your pipes is to keep them warm. Ideally, you want your home to stay at a steady temperature of around 60 degrees Fahrenheit, but with colder temperatures outside, you’ll need to keep the heat cranked to keep your indoor pipes from getting too cold. This is especially important for pipes in areas that aren’t occupied frequently, like unfinished basements and unheated garages. The best way to keep these areas warm is to keep your home heated overall. Keep in mind that it’s not only the outdoor sections of your home that need to be heated. Be sure to turn on your furnace inside the house, too.
While you’re working on keeping your indoor pipes warm, you may want to consider insulating your attic as well. Any areas of your home that aren’t being heated are susceptible to extreme cold, and your attic is one of the most common places for this to occur. If your attic is particularly susceptible to extreme cold, you’ll want to make sure you have adequate insulation to keep your pipes warm. If your attic isn’t properly insulated, you can install additional insulation yourself. If you live in a climate where extreme cold is common (like the Midwest or Northeast), you’ll want to make sure you have enough insulation to protect your pipes.
As the temperatures drop, you’ll want to make sure you drain water from your outdoor faucets to keep them from freezing and causing damage to your pipes. If you have an outdoor spigot or a hose bib leading to your lawn, be sure to drain it until the end of the year—even if there’s no vegetation in your yard. Frozen water can expand and crack your outdoor pipes, so it’s best to drain the water before it has a chance to freeze. If you have an indoor, yard-side faucet, drain the water from it, too. Make sure to completely drain the faucet, or else water could freeze and expand inside the pipe, causing damage. Even if your faucet has a shut-off valve that you normally use, you may want to consider turning it off early this year. The temperatures are dropping, and the days are getting shorter, so the sun has less time to warm your outdoor faucets before they freeze.
When the temperatures drop, you’ll want to make sure you seal any drafts or gaps in your home that could allow cold air in. This includes your doors and windows, roof and chimney flashing, and any wall or floor gaps. If you have areas of your home that are particularly susceptible to cold, you may want to consider installing insulation to seal them off. While it’s a good idea to make sure your entire home is sealed from the cold, there are certain areas where you’ll want to pay special attention to keeping out the cold. You’ll want to make sure your attic, basement, and garage are sealed off from the cold. You may also want to seal off areas like your fireplace or a crawlspace. If you have particularly large gaps or areas that are prone to letting in cold air, you may want to install insulation in those areas.
While you’re taking these steps to protect your pipes, you’ll want to be on the lookout for warning signs that indicate a problem is developing. If you notice that your water is beginning to freeze, you may have a frozen pipe. If water is pooling on the ground near your outdoor faucets, this could be a sign that it’s freezing. If you smell a musty odour in your home, that could be a sign that there’s mould growing due to water damage from a frozen pipe. If you notice any of these warning signs, you’ll want to act quickly to protect your home from potential water damage. If you notice any of these signs and you have unheated pipes, you’ll want to wrap them immediately. If you have indoor pipes that are beginning to freeze, you can try to thaw them out before the damage becomes severe. To do this, wrap your frozen pipe in a towel and run a low-flow faucet near the frozen area.
When the temperatures start to drop, it’s important to make sure your pipes are ready to handle whatever winter throws their way. Wrapping exposed pipes, keeping your home heated, insulating your attic, draining water from outdoor faucets, sealing drafts and gaps, and paying attention to warning signs are the best ways to protect your pipes from cold weather damage.
