Before the winter season sets in, it’s important to take some steps to adequately prepare your home for the cold weather. While you’re likely concerned with your heating system, you don’t want to forget about your plumbing. Below, we’re going to share the various steps that you’ll want to take to ensure your plumbing system makes it through the winter season without a hitch.
Insulate Your Piping
The piping in your home can greatly benefit from insulation. There are various forms of insulation that you can use. Styrofoam sleeves tend to be the most popular due to their affordability and ease of installation. Insulation will help to maintain the water temperature inside your pipes. This will go a long way in helping to reduce the freezing of your cold-water lines and prevent temperature drops in your hot-water lines.
Service Your Water Heater
Your water heater undergoes an increased demand during the winter months. For this reason, it’s best to have it undergo maintenance service before the cold season hits. A professional will take care of flushing your water heater, altering your thermostat settings if necessary, testing for loose connections, and so forth. This will ensure that your water heater is operating at its peak efficiency level. Furthermore, consider investing in an insulating jacket to help your water heater retain more of its heat so it can function efficiently.
Schedule a Plumbing Inspection
Having a professional plumber come to your home to assess your entire plumbing system can be highly beneficial. They can identify any hidden leaks and repair those issues before they get worse. This can also provide you with much-needed peace of mind about your plumbing’s functioning.
Test Your Sump Pump
If you have a sump pump to remove excess flood water from your home, then you’ll want to ensure it’s working properly. Pour extra water into the sump pump’s basin to see if the pump kicks on. Ensure that it actively removes the excess water and then shuts off. If you find any debris in the pump’s basin, be sure to remove it, as this could lead to unwanted jamming of your pump’s float switch.
Disconnect and Drain Unheated Piping
It’s very common to have some piping that runs solely to the outdoors. These include lines for your hose bibb, outdoor kitchen, and even your garage. It’s best to shut off the water going to these lines. Be sure to drain each line at its bleeder valve so that water doesn’t get stuck in the pipe and freeze up during cold spells.
Install Heating Cables Where Necessary
If you have piping in any unheated areas of your home, it’s best to shut off the water supply. However, if you need the water to work, then you’ll want to install a heating cable. This is a wire that wraps around the pipe. It’s connected directly to a thermostat that turns on the heating wire whenever the temperature drops. This helps to prevent the water inside the piping from freezing when temperatures get too cold in these areas.
Test Your Water Shut-Off Valves
There are various water shut-off valves throughout a plumbing system. Some common ones are the main water shut-off valve, sink shut-offs, and appliance shut-offs. It can be highly advantageous to test each one of these shut-off valves to ensure that they’re working appropriately. Turn on the fixture or appliance and be certain the water supply effectively stops. Any valves that don’t work should be properly repaired by a plumbing professional.
Get Drain Clearing Service
Over the years, your sewer system can develop debris that can eventually lead to clogging. A great way to help avoid experiencing clogs is to invest in professional drain clearing service. This is where a plumbing professional will use specialized tools to remove the debris inside your sewer line. The service will significantly reduce your risk of experiencing a sewer clog during the winter season.
Fix Repair Issues
It isn’t uncommon for your home’s plumbing system to develop problems over time. It could be a toilet that starts to run or a faucet that develops a drip. While it’s easy to ignore those issues, it’s important to face them before the winter season. Have a plumber repair any known issues to help reduce your risk of experiencing a plumbing problem during the cold winter season.
Open Cabinet Doors During Cold Spells
When cold spells come through your area, it’s important to react. Opt for opening up cabinet doors under all of your sinks. This will allow the hot air from your home to warm up those water supply lines so they don’t freeze. Unfortunately, enclosed areas below sinks are more prone to freezing because the doors prevent warm air from heating the pipes.
Get Septic Pumping Service
If your home relies on a septic system, regular pumping service is a necessity to ensure that your tank doesn’t overflow. Overflowing could lead to contamination of local groundwater supplies and sewage backup into your home. If your home is due for pumping service, it’s best to schedule it before the winter season.
Seal Up Your Home
It isn’t uncommon for leaks to develop on your home’s exterior walls over time. It’s necessary to address these leaks by sealing them up with caulking, spray foam insulation, or even weatherstripping. This will help to stop cold outdoor air from seeping into your home and chilling your pipes. Be mindful of sealing your basement or crawlspace also.
Always Keep the Heat On
If you’re going to be spending any time away from your home during the holiday season, you may be tempted to turn your home’s heating system off. That isn’t wise because it could allow the pipes in your home to freeze. Be sure to keep your thermostat at 55 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. Additionally, resist the urge to turn off your water heater or turn its thermostat down. Any time that your water heater drops below 120 degrees Fahrenheit, it can develop harmful bacteria that can permanently damage its tank.
How to Respond to Frozen Pipes
When your pipes freeze up, the ice causes an expansion. This can permanently damage the piping and cause it to burst once the ice thaws out. If any of your pipes freeze up, it’s best to shut off the water supply going to that area. While you can certainly heat up the pipe with a heat gun or blow dryer, avoid using anything with an open flame, like a butane torch. That could cause more damage to the piping. Once your piping unfreezes, it’s best to check the area for any potential cracking or leaks before turning the water supply back on.
Reliable Plumbing Inspection Service
BlueFlow All-Service Plumbing offers reliable plumbing inspection service for the Gainsville, GA community. We can also assist with all your septic, commercial, emergency plumbing repair, water heater, and drain cleaning needs. Call us today for an appointment, and we’ll immediately put you on our service schedule.
