As Fall gives way to Winter, so too the warmer weather gives way to drops in temperatures. Winterizing the house becomes a priority. While taking the time to ensure you have the house all snug and tight, don't neglect winterizing your plumbing.
Knowing what to do for your plumbing, inside and out, before winter sets in will save you a ton of money. This means while you are wrapping those inside pipes, don't forget to take care of all the outside plumbing.
When tending to the outside plumbing here are some tips to consider:
1. Make sure all the caulking around the outside plumbing next to the house is intact. If not replace the missing caulk or outside air can sneak in and freeze exposed pipes under the house. You can use such things as Styrofoam, wood, or heavy plastic to block off vented areas which lead to the inside of the house.
2. Make sure all outside faucets are shut off. Leaking faucets lead to frozen water lines, which can burst. So be cautious, take the extra step to make sure nothing is leaking on the outside of the house.
3. Disconnect all garden hoses and store for the winter. Wrap all external pipes with foam mold or insulated rags or fiberglass. You can have the foam molds cut to size at most home and garden centers.
Not to be overlooked is the inside plumbing. It can be quite traumatic having your home flooded from busted pipes and expensive too. A few suggestions you might want to employ are:
1. Make sure pipes in areas of the house, which aren't heated, are wrapped. Like the outside pipes, you can have foam molds cut and fitted to these areas. If foam molding wont work, then wrap with some sort of insulated towel or rag.
2. When the weather outside has reached temperatures that affect your plumbing despite the steps you've taken to ensure their safety, it might be wise to open the doors to those areas so warm heat can keep them safe. This is particularly true for areas under the sink in the kitchen, bathroom, and washrooms. If you have plumbing on the North side of the house, take extra measures to make plumbing secure against freezing weather.
3. Weatherize your laundry room pipes. Wrap your water pipes with rags or foam as well. Even though you might daily use these appliances, at night time the temperatures drop more so than the day.
4. If temperatures drop below 30, you might want to let your water in the kitchen and bathroom drip ( more like a steady small stream of water).
As an added protection, for areas in extreme cold whose drain traps don't quite get rid of standing water, you might try adding a small amount of anti-freeze. This will help in preventing that standing water to freeze, expand, and bust pipes. Make sure your pipes can take anti-freeze being added to them first.
While winterizing your home may be a huge project to undertake, taking a few hours or a day to protect the plumbing is well worthy your efforts. Who needs the added expense of repairing busted plumbing or far worse, restoring a home due to water damage from burst pipes.