Keep Pipes from Freezing This Winter

Few homes in Howard County are immune to the threat of frozen pipes. All it takes is one cold snap to unleash a flood of destruction through your home. In fact, it’s one of the most common causes of property damage for homeowners. Preventing frozen pipes is easy. Repairing the damage from frozen pipes that burst is not. A burst pipe can send a torrent of water into your home, flooding your basement, destroying valuables, and causing structural damage. It can also lead to unseen problems, too, like a mold infestation.

And because we know that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, we offer these tips to prevent your plumbing pipes from freezing and bursting this winter and save yourself the hassle with dealing with the aftermath.

Why Do Pipes Freeze and Burst?

When water freezes, it expands in volume with tremendous force. The pressure inside plumbing pipes can go from 40 pounds per square inch to 40,000. And because no pipe is constructed to hold that much force, it breaks open. Interestingly enough, the burst pipe may occur where water finds a weak spot in the pipe, which can be inches or even feet away from the frozen section of pipe. Uninsulated pipes that run through unheated parts of your home, like the garage or basement, as well as pipes in  exterior walls, are most susceptible to freezing.

Prevent Pipes from Freezing

It’s easy to keep an eye on temperatures throughout the winter months, so heed the warnings from the National Weather Service or your local weather reporter. When below-freezing temps threaten, take action with these easy steps:

Outside the house

• If you have a pool, drain it before cold weather arrives. And drain your sprinklers, too.
• Disconnect all garden hoses from outdoor faucets, including frost-proof outdoor faucets as they can burst if a hose is connected.
• Turn off the supply lines to all hose bibs inside the house and let the remaining water drain from the pipes leading to the outdoor faucets.

Inside the house

• Let the water run to prevent pipes from freezing. A tiny trickle from faucets makes freezing less likely. It prevents pressure from building up inside pipes and creates a constant flow of water through pipes.
• Open cabinet doors beneath kitchen and bathroom faucets to allow warm air to circulate around plumbing pipes.
• Reduced water flow is often the first sign ice is forming inside your pipes. If that happens, use a hairdryer to heat the most vulnerable pipes, usually in basements and crawl spaces or near exterior walls.
• Leave the faucet on while you apply heat. As you melt ice, the flow will increase.

Permanent Protection

Long-term prevention includes insulating crawl spaces, insulating exposed pipes in unheated areas of your home, replacing standard outdoor faucets with frost-proof models, and keeping the house warm through frigid temps.

Yet even with the best of ongoing care and maintenance, problems are bound to occur. And when they do, Best Choice Plumbers will be here, ready to assist with any issue large and small. From whole-house plumbing inspection to water heater service, repair, and installation, and everything in between, you can be certain that we’ll get the job done and to your complete satisfaction.