One of the issues many homeowners face during freezing weather conditions is water pipes freezing and bursting. If your water pipes burst the damages to your property could be in the thousands. At Biotek Environmental, Inc., we receive calls every year from distraught homeowners whose pipes have burst during a cold wave. We’d like to share some practical advice to help you avoid this situation by keeping your pipes warm and your water running.
1. Don’t Lower Your Thermostat at Night
It’s common practice to lower our thermostats at night in order to save energy and reduce our heating costs. However, when we are experiencing cold spells, it’s best to keep the temperature in our homes constant to avoid pipes freezing and costing us a great deal of money in water damage.
2. Let Cold Water Drip From Faucets
As most of us know, during freezing weather, we have to let faucets, served by any exterior pipes, drip. This will keep the water running through the pipes and prevent them from freezing.
3. Pipes In Unheated Areas Should Be Insulate
You should insulate your pipes anywhere they are exposed to unheated conditions. For example, pipes in unheated basements, attics, and garages should be wrapped with specially designed pipe insulation. This type of insulating material is made of fiberglass, polyethylene, or foam.
4. Wrap Pipes with Heating Tape
Heating tape is a great way to prevent pipes from freezing. If you have pipes that you are able to access in places like your basement, attic or the crawl space under your home, you can wrap them in heating tape. However, this involves electricity therefore you need to ensure that you follow the manufacturer’s instructions and safety procedures.
5. Keep Your Garage Doors Closed
If your water supply lines are exposed in your garage then you need to keep your garage doors closed to prevent freezing air from lowering temperatures and freezing your water pipes.
6. Keep Interior Doors Open
By keeping our interior doors open, we will be able to maintain a consistent temperature throughout the house. Uneven distribution of heat in rooms such as the bathroom, laundry room or kitchen, where we have water pipes, creates the potential of pipes freezing during extremely cold spells.
7. Keep Cabinet Doors Open
It’s a good idea to periodically open your bathroom, laundry room and kitchen cabinet doors to enable warm air circulation around water pipes. During extremely cold nights, it’s best to leave all cabinet doors open to keep your pipes warmer.
8. Seal Any Cracks or Holes On Your Home’s Exterior
Check for any cracks, gaps, or holes in your walls or floors which may be letting in cold air. If you find any, then you should seal them with caulk or spray foam insulation. This will not only help keep warm air within your home and prevent pipes from freezing but it will also lower your heating costs.
9. Seal Crawl Spaces
Covering crawl spaces during wintertime will protect your water pipes from exposure to the freezing air. You can temporarily seal your crawl space by using pieces of styrofoam and some duct tape to close up vents. Once the weather warms up, you can easily remove the seals.
10. Don’t Turn Off the Heat
If you plan to be absent from your home for an extended period of time during the winter, it is important to keep the heating system working at all times. You should set the temperature at a minimum of 55° to prevent your water pipes from freezing.
Last Word
We hope these tips will help you avoid issues with your water pipes freezing and bursting during cold weather conditions. However, if you do have issues with your pipes bursting, you can depend on Biotek Environmental, Inc. to provide you with professional water damage restoration services in Columbia, Greenville, and Spartanburg, SC. We can give you peace of mind, and also save you money on water damage and flood repair. We will work diligently to protect your home and family from the serious health risks of water damage. Call us toll-free at 866-630-7340 any time of the day or night, 365 days a year, or contact us online now.