Winter is coming. Follow these plumbing tips to prepare your home or business for winter, and decrease the chance of frozen pipes.
- Remove outside hoses from hose bibs and make sure the water is completely off
- Cover exposed pipes in attics or crawl spaces with insulation sleeves
- Seal any cracks or gaps in outside walls or the foundation that allow pipes to be exposed to the cold air.
- Insulate walls to protect pipes
In vacant or seasonal homes or buildings:
- Keep the heat on low
- Drain all pipes and the water heater
- Wrap pipes in crawl spaces or uninsulated areas with insulating sleeves
- Seal any cracks or gaps in outside walls or the foundation that allow pipes to be exposed to the cold air.
- Remove hoses from outside faucets and drain them.
If a cold snap is coming, leave a faucet dripping if the sink is on an outside wall. Leave the cupboard doors open to let the heat of the building get to the pipe.
In “uncondition” areas that are not heated in homes or businesses like crawl spaces, attics, bathrooms overhanging garage areas should have some type of insulation whether it being pipe sleeve or fiberglass insulation. Depending on the thickness it could have a R factor of 2 or more to prevent thermal heat loss or by raising the degrees of temperature of a few degrees from keeping the pipes from freezing. Also another way of preventing frozen or busted pipe is installing a thermal controlled heat trace in cold areas these are seen installed under most mobile homes. Make sure the heat trace is turned on and is functional before the first cold snap to prevent frozen and busted pipe.
If you need help preparing your plumbing for winter, call Coldwright Plumbing. We can winterize your home, business, rental housing and more. You want to do all you can to prevent the disaster of frozen pipes.
If your pipes do freeze, turn off the water main to prevent flooding and call Coldwright Plumbing for further advice and service. If you need a residential plumber or a commercial plumber with the experience and know-how you can depend on, call Coldwright Plumbing today at 410-679-8487. We are a licensed plumber serving Harford County, Baltimore County and surrounding areas.
