Frozen pipes can cause a lot of serious problems for you and your home. When plumbing pipes freeze, they contract, and when water freezes, it expands. As you can probably guess, expanding water and contracting pipes are a recipe for disaster. Freezing temperatures often result in cracked pipes and serious flooding (once everything thaws out) in homes.
This winter, we recommend taking a few precautions to help you avoid a plumbing disaster. As temperatures continue to drop, your home becomes more at risk for frozen pipes. Continue reading to discover some of our best tips for preventing frozen pipes.
Insulate Your Pipes
The most important step you can take in preventing frozen pipes is to insulate them. We recommend having a plumber come out to insulate your pipes using specially designed pipe insulation materials. Having a professional handle this service ensures it is done correctly and you don’t have to worry about frozen pipes this winter; however, if you are in a serious time crunch with a storm on the way, you can use newspaper, towels, and duct tape as a temporary solution.
Be sure to insulate any exposed water pipes, including those found in or around:
- Unheated basements
- Unheated garages
- Hose bibs
- Crawl spaces
- Exterior walls
- Cabinets under sinks
Close Your Garage
Thanks to concrete floors, a lack of insulation, and a lack of temperature control, your garage is often much colder than the rest of your home. That means that exposed pipes are already in danger of freezing in your garage, so opening the garage door and letting in freezing air any more than necessary is extremely risky. When temperatures are below freezing, it is best to keep your garage door closed as much as possible.
Open Cabinets
Any pipes inside cabinets are closed off from the warm air of your home. To prevent them from freezing, open your cabinets and allow the warm air to circulate around them.
Keep Your Heater On
Your thermostat should always be set to at least 55 degrees Fahrenheit during the winter to keep your pipes from freezing, even if you are leaving for an extended period of time. One of the worst mistakes you can make is to turn your heater off before going on a vacation during winter. The temperature in your home needs to be regulated at all times to avoid a plumbing disaster.
Leave the Faucet Dripping
When your pipes are in serious danger of becoming frozen, it is important to leave all of your faucets dripping. A steady flow of water moving through the pipes will keep them just above freezing temperatures.
When in Doubt, Turn to AAA Service!
For more plumbing tips and tricks, please reach out to AAA Service Plumbing, Heating & Electric. As the most trusted name in home services, we are committed to taking care of your most essential appliances.
In addition to pipe insulation, our team offers the following plumbing services:
- Water heater repair
- Water heater installation
- Tankless water heaters
- Emergency plumbing
- Fixture repair and replacement
- Plumbing repair
- Toilet repair
- Leak detection and repair
- Garbage disposal repair and replacement
- Gas line repair and installation
- Sump ejector pumps
- Water filters and softeners
For any questions or concerns, please call AAA Service Plumbing, Heating & Electric at (303) 313-3333. We look forward to serving you!
