Your plumbing contractor is your best line of defense when it comes to protecting your home’s plumbing system during the harsh winter months. Winterizing your plumbing system before old man winter arrives not only helps protect your pipes from damage and costly repairs. It also decreases the chances you will lose your service and energy efficiency due to freezing winter temperatures. This post will discuss steps your plumbing contractor must take to protect your home’s plumbing system during the winter months.
Why Winter Plumbing Protection makes Sense
The cold realities of winter can have an adverse effect on your home’s plumbing system. If you are caught ill-prepared and temperatures drop below freezing, you face the potential of a damaged plumbing system and the consequences that come with it. A frozen pipe can potentially crack or burst causing immediate or delayed flooding inside your home. Not only are you left without vital water service, but could also experience severe water damage to your home and the costly repair bills required to fix it.
Plumbing Winterizing for your Primary Residence
While you can certainly take steps to protect your plumbing during the cold winter months, the best step is to contact your plumbing contractor. Winterizing your plumbing system requires a keen eye and experience to identify areas of concern. One pipe left unprotected can succumb to freezing temperatures that could wreak havoc on your life. A professional plumbing contractor knows where to look and the necessary steps required to protect you and your home’s plumbing from freezing temperatures.
- Inspect the structure thoroughly to identify areas of concern that could allow freezing temperatures to reach your pipes. Often, unheated areas such as crawl spaces, attics or damaged — cracked or breached — exterior walls need additional insulation and repair to prevent damage due to freezing.
- Insulate any exposed or vulnerable pipes with foam insulation tubes. The insulation tubes, while easy to install, often require physically installing them on pipes found in hard to reach areas such as attics and crawl spaces.
- Snake or jet the primary sewer line that services the home. Debris that can build up inside the pipes during the summer can reduce or slow the flow. A slow draining sewage line is a prime candidate for freezing.
- Install protective/insulated covers on outdoor hose bibs. Many fail to realize that an unprotected hose bib can lead to frozen pipes.
Winterizing your home’s plumbing system before winter arrives provides a peace of mind knowing that your home is protected when the temperature drops.
For answers to your questions, contact The Pink Plumber today.
