If you’re a new homeowner, you must have heard about the concept of winterization and how important it is. However, it’s so easy to overlook it, especially if you’ve just moved into your new home and the bliss of finally achieving this is already in the air. There are many things you can do to winterize your home but in this post, we will focus more on the pipes. Winterization of pipes needs to start at fall. Don’t wait until the winter is in full force.
Here are a few simple techniques that you can use:
1. Turn On Your Faucets
If the cold temperatures have already set in, you can turn on your faucet to make sure that water is flowing through the pipes. This will help slow down the freezing process. The faucets must be turned on inside the house and also outside. However, you don’t need to have the faucets fully open for the entire day. This will just waste water. Just turn them on slightly so that you get at most five drips per minute.
2. Wrap Your Pipes
Wrapping your pipes with warm towels can really make the difference even if we’re already well into winter. Start by covering the pipes with dried towels and tape. Make sure that every inch is fully covered. Once this is done, go ahead and pour boiling water across the pipes until the towels are fully soaked. This will easily help loosen the ice inside the pipes and the water will start flowing an hour or two later.
3. Open Your Cabinet Doors
Normally, cabinet doors are positioned in places where they cover plumbing. It can be in the kitchen or the bathroom. During the cold weather, the plumbing probably needs all the heat it can get. In that case, try to open up the cabinets so that the warm air can circulate through to the pipes. It’s important to note though that this normally works if pipes are exposed. If the pipework is well underneath the walls, it may not help that much. However, it can still play a small role in making sure that the pipes don’t freeze too much.
4. Shut Off the Water If the Pipes Are Already Frozen
A lot of people often wait until it’s too late before they start winterizing their pipes. If your pipes have already frozen, then you can try to solve this by first of all turning off the main water supply in the house. Make sure that even external water sources including the garden hose are turned off. As long as there’s no more water filling the piping, the extent of the freezing can be managed. In addition to this, turning off the water reduces the risk of a pipe burst due to ice pile up within the plumbing. Once the water is shut off, try to unfreeze the ice already in the pipes. Turn on the water only if you’re sure the ice in the pipe has melted or it has significantly reduced.
5. Use Your Hairdryer
If you have a hairdryer at home, it can be a great tool to unfreeze pipes. The hair dryer blows hot air into the pipes. The hot air will then melt the ice. The hairdryer will, however, be more effective if it’s used with other solutions. For example, you can wrap up the pipes with hot towels and then blow hot air through them in order to accelerate the pace at which the ice melts. In addition to this, don’t use anything that produces a flame to warm up the pipes because this can cause more damage.
Winter can be a tough season for most people but the most important thing is to always get ready. Winterization of pipework around your home will ensure you get enough water through the entire season and the tips above will help you a lot.
