Plumbing Tips (4)ARVADA PLUMBING GUIDE TO PROTECTING PIPES FROM FREEZING IN THE WINTER
It can get very cold in Denver during the winter for days at a time. While this is great for the ski resort industry, it can be bad for homeowners who may not be prepared for the possibility of their pipes freezing and wreaking havoc in their home. According to the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety, a burst water pipe in your house can cost you up to $5,000 in repairs. The best way to avoid such an insult is to follow the practices we will outline in this guide. A good first step is to consider the pipes that are the most vulnerable to the cold weather. Your home is a labyrinth of water pipes, and the pipes that run through unheated spaces like the garage, the basement and the attic can be the first to freeze over when the thermometer dips. While water pipes are made of metal or sometimes strong PVC plastic it does not make them impervious to the pressure ice can exert. Water has unique properties unlike other liquids on Earth. Most things contract when frozen, but water EXPANDS! Normal water pressure within your home pipes ranges from 40 to 85 pounds per square inch. The pressure exerted by freezing water creates an effective pressure of 1,000 pounds per square inch! It's enough to burst the strongest of pipes from within. |
|
PIPE INSULATION
One of the easiest ways to protect pipes exposed to the cold is with pipe insulation. It is available at any hardware store and costs about fifty cents per foot.
Pipe insulation can be very helpful in some areas prone to freezing in the winter. This is not however a panacea because given enough time in the cold, these pipes too, may succumb to freezing.
SHUT OFF VALVES
Being able to turn off the flow of water to the pipes exposed to the freezing temperatures is the best way to winterize you home.
Often this will take the form of an interior valve that you can use to cut off the water to an exterior pipe like the one that your garden hose is connected to for example.
WHEN TO TAKE ACTION
While it varies from place to place and sometimes by altitude in high places like Denver, any sustained temperature of 20° F or lower should signal an alert that you need to take special precautions especially if you have un-insulated pipes in unheated places.
One way to keep your pipes from freezing is to keep the flow of water flowing within the pipe. While it might go against your water conservation instincts, this is accomplished by allowing a small amount of drip, drip, drip out of the faucets to keep that flow going.
The cost you might bear for those drops of water are far less than you will endure should your pipe freeze and burst. If you have pipes you know are exposed to the cold like in the garage for example, keep those garage doors closed as much as possible to conserve the heat.
If you generally keep your house cool in the winter, you might consider opening the doors of the cabinets in your kitchen where the pipes are exposed to allow them to benefit a little from the household heat. Caution: Be sure to sequester harmful household cleaners and chemicals from small children.
Allow the water to drip, drip, drip a tiny amount from the faucets exposed to the cold. If you can't shut off the water to that pipe from a shutoff valve deeper inside the house.
Develop a number for the temperature that suits you and keep your thermostat set at that temperature at all times.
If you plan on leaving your house, do not turn the heat off completely. It is better to set the temperature to 55° F than to come home to a flooded house.
Again, insulation is your friend in these matters and it is worthwhile to install it where ever you are able.
WHAT TO DO WHEN A PIPE FREEZES
Even using the best practices, a pipe will sometimes freeze. If you turn on a faucet and the water barely comes out, you may well have a frozen pipe in the supply line.
This is a time where you must exercise caution because if a pipe has burst somewhere, the water will be gushing out as soon as it thaws and create a really bad situation. This is a good reason why you should be familiar with the main shut off valve to your home's water supply.
When in doubt, you can always call Arvada Plumbing who are always available to attend to your plumbing in Denver.
If you can identify the coldest area of the pipe where freezing has begun, you can gently heat it yourself using a hair dryer, a heating pad or warming the area with a space heater.
Follow the usual precautions to prevent any chance of starting a fire. If you don't have such heating elements readily available, you can heat up water on a stove and soak towels in the hot water that can be wrapped around the frozen pipes.
As the ice melts and the ability for the pipe to allow water to flow is restored, keeping that drip, drip, drip going at one end of the pipe will reduce the chances of the pipe freezing up again.
While we note several methods here to warm the pipes, it is definitely not advisable to use techniques like lighting fires or heating the pipes with a blowtorch because in practice, these techniques often lead to other worse disasters.
If pipes are freezing up in one area of your home, they may well be freezing up elsewhere in the house.
It is advisable for you to perform a complete inspection and if you have trouble identifying any of these problems, the alert crew at Arvada Plumbing Services is on call for you in your time of need!
One of the easiest ways to protect pipes exposed to the cold is with pipe insulation. It is available at any hardware store and costs about fifty cents per foot.
Pipe insulation can be very helpful in some areas prone to freezing in the winter. This is not however a panacea because given enough time in the cold, these pipes too, may succumb to freezing.
SHUT OFF VALVES
Being able to turn off the flow of water to the pipes exposed to the freezing temperatures is the best way to winterize you home.
Often this will take the form of an interior valve that you can use to cut off the water to an exterior pipe like the one that your garden hose is connected to for example.
WHEN TO TAKE ACTION
While it varies from place to place and sometimes by altitude in high places like Denver, any sustained temperature of 20° F or lower should signal an alert that you need to take special precautions especially if you have un-insulated pipes in unheated places.
One way to keep your pipes from freezing is to keep the flow of water flowing within the pipe. While it might go against your water conservation instincts, this is accomplished by allowing a small amount of drip, drip, drip out of the faucets to keep that flow going.
The cost you might bear for those drops of water are far less than you will endure should your pipe freeze and burst. If you have pipes you know are exposed to the cold like in the garage for example, keep those garage doors closed as much as possible to conserve the heat.
If you generally keep your house cool in the winter, you might consider opening the doors of the cabinets in your kitchen where the pipes are exposed to allow them to benefit a little from the household heat. Caution: Be sure to sequester harmful household cleaners and chemicals from small children.
Allow the water to drip, drip, drip a tiny amount from the faucets exposed to the cold. If you can't shut off the water to that pipe from a shutoff valve deeper inside the house.
Develop a number for the temperature that suits you and keep your thermostat set at that temperature at all times.
If you plan on leaving your house, do not turn the heat off completely. It is better to set the temperature to 55° F than to come home to a flooded house.
Again, insulation is your friend in these matters and it is worthwhile to install it where ever you are able.
WHAT TO DO WHEN A PIPE FREEZES
Even using the best practices, a pipe will sometimes freeze. If you turn on a faucet and the water barely comes out, you may well have a frozen pipe in the supply line.
This is a time where you must exercise caution because if a pipe has burst somewhere, the water will be gushing out as soon as it thaws and create a really bad situation. This is a good reason why you should be familiar with the main shut off valve to your home's water supply.
When in doubt, you can always call Arvada Plumbing who are always available to attend to your plumbing in Denver.
If you can identify the coldest area of the pipe where freezing has begun, you can gently heat it yourself using a hair dryer, a heating pad or warming the area with a space heater.
Follow the usual precautions to prevent any chance of starting a fire. If you don't have such heating elements readily available, you can heat up water on a stove and soak towels in the hot water that can be wrapped around the frozen pipes.
As the ice melts and the ability for the pipe to allow water to flow is restored, keeping that drip, drip, drip going at one end of the pipe will reduce the chances of the pipe freezing up again.
While we note several methods here to warm the pipes, it is definitely not advisable to use techniques like lighting fires or heating the pipes with a blowtorch because in practice, these techniques often lead to other worse disasters.
If pipes are freezing up in one area of your home, they may well be freezing up elsewhere in the house.
It is advisable for you to perform a complete inspection and if you have trouble identifying any of these problems, the alert crew at Arvada Plumbing Services is on call for you in your time of need!
