Before Winter arrives, it's time to think about ways to prevent frozen water pipes.
Here are a few suggestions:
- Wrap all pipes. You may purchase special wrapping material or simply use an old sweatshirt or newspapers. Secure them with plastic tape.
- Disconnect all hoses from outside faucets then wrap the faucets. You would be amazed at the number of homes that freeze from the faucet side in.
- Know where your main shut-off valve is located.
If your home is going to be vacant during the colder months, you may want to:
- Turn off your hot water tank.
- Turn off the main valve to the house.
- Drain the water in your pipes by opening all the faucets and flushing each toilet once.
- Leave the heat on at a minimum temperature to help keep pipes from freezing inside the walls.
If your pipes do freeze, wrapping them with rags and repeatedly pouring warm water over the rags may thaw them. Once the pipes have thawed, remove the rags and rewrap them with dry materials to prevent re-freezing. Also, remember that water expands when it freezes. This can cause leaky or even broken pipes. You won’t know it until they thaw. If you don’t happen to be home when this happens, you may be in for a flood!
