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The article author is making several great pointers relating to Winterizing Your Pipes as a whole in this great article which follows.

All homeowners that live in warm climates must do their ideal to winterize their pipelines. Failure to do so can lead to disaster like icy, broken, or ruptured pipelines.

 

Switch on the Faucets

When the temperature declines and it seems as if the icy temperature will last, it will certainly aid to turn on your water both inside and outdoors. This will certainly maintain the water moving with your plumbing systems. In addition, the movement will certainly decrease the freezing process. Especially, there's no requirement to turn it on full force. You'll end up throwing away gallons of water this way. Rather, aim for concerning 5 decreases per minute.

 

Open Cabinet Doors Hiding Plumbing

It would certainly be useful to open up cabinet doors that are camouflaging your pipelines when it's cold outside. For example, they could be somewhere in your kitchen or bathroom. This will certainly enable the warm air from your heating unit to circulate there. Therefore, you avoid these revealed pipelines from freezing. Doing this tiny trick can keep your pipelines cozy and also restrict the possibly unsafe outcomes of freezing temperature levels.

 

Take Time to Cover Exposed Pipeline

One awesome and easy hack to heat up icy pipes is to cover them with warm towels. You can also utilize pre-soaked towels in hot water, just do not neglect to put on protective gloves to safeguard your hands from the heat.

 

Attempt a Hair Dryer or Heat Weapon

When your pipelines are nearly freezing, your reliable hair dryer or warm gun is a blessing. If the hot towels do not aid displace any type of settling ice in your pipes, bowling hot air directly right into them might assist. Do not make use of other things that produce straight fires like a blow lantern. This can result in a larger disaster that you can not control. You might wind up destructive your pipelines while trying to melt the ice. And over time, you might also end up shedding your home. Beware!

 

When Pipes are Frozen, close Off Water

If you see that your pipes are totally icy or virtually nearing that phase, transform off the main water valve right away. You will normally locate this in your cellar or utility room near the heating unit or the front wall surface closest to the street. Turn it off today to prevent additional damages.
Do not forget to close outside water resources, also, such as your hookup for the garden house. Doing this will prevent additional water from filling out your plumbing system. With more water, even more ice will certainly pile up, which will at some point lead to break pipes. It is best to call an expert plumber for an evaluation if you are unsure concerning the state of your pipes this winter. Taking this aggressive method can conserve you countless bucks in repairs.
All homeowners who live in warm environments have to do their best to winterize their pipes. Failure to do so can mean catastrophe like icy, split, or ruptured pipelines. If the warm towels do not aid remove any type of clearing up ice in your pipelines, bowling hot air directly into them might aid. Transform off the primary water shutoff immediately if you observe that your pipes are totally icy or nearly nearing that phase. With more water, more ice will stack up, which will ultimately lead to burst pipelines.

 

Planning Ahead for Winter Plumbing!

 

Given how the weather has been recently here in Kansas City, it may not seem like it, but the truth is winter is quickly approaching. As we near the end of September, it is never a bad idea to start considering which areas of your home could use some preventative maintenance heading into the colder months, as well as what you should remember to do once the colder temps settle in. And considering your plumbing system can certainly be impacted by changing weather conditions, guess what we’ll be talking about today?

For those that are visiting our blog for the very first time, welcome to Stine-Nichols Plumbing. Here on the blog, we post weekly about various aspects of the plumbing world. Whether that be DIY tips, brand highlights or anything else, they’re all designed to make homeowners more knowledgeable about their plumbing systems. Believe it or not, even just some general knowledge about one’s plumbing can go a long way in preventing unneeded repairs and keeping everything running smoothly. As referenced in the previous paragraph, this week’s blog will walk through a few of the steps you can do to your own plumbing system to ensure you’re ready to go for the upcoming winter weather and tips for keeping it all in working order as the winter carries on. Let’s hop right in!

 

Disconnect Hoses

 

You’ve likely heard this one on multiple occasions, but it is certainly something worth mentioning. Make sure to disconnect any and all outdoor hoses and then turn off those outdoor faucets at the shut-off. The logic behind this is probably something you would have learned in a grade school science class. When water freezes, it expands. Thus, due to this, it’s going to occupy more space. And if there’s no space to occupy, trouble ensues. It’s as simple as that!

Long story short, if you have room to store them indoors, do so. If not, just be sure to completely drain them and then store them in a dry area, such as the garage or a shed. Failure to disconnect the hoses can easily result in frozen/bursting pipes and plumbing headaches for you, especially if there is still water sitting in the hose! Do yourself a favor and disconnect your hoses once you know you won’t be using them anymore for that season. It’s a quick-and-easy step that’s always worth the time.

 

Headed Out of Town?

 

Our next point will likely get more and more relevant as we get into the holiday season. Do you remember the extreme arctic blast that hit the Kansas City area in February of 2021? Sub-zero temps, frigid wind chills, it was definitely not the funnest of times for KC residents. Nonetheless, here at Stine-Nichols Plumbing, it’s safe to say our technicians were quite busy dealing with frozen/bursting pipes. What I’m hinting at here is that you never know when we’ll experience extremely cold temperatures. So if you’re going to be out of town for a little bit, it’s never a bad idea to turn off your water at the main shut-off valve. While this won’t prevent every possible plumbing issue, it will at least limit the damage if something bad were to occur. Especially if you don’t have a family member or friend that’ll be checking on your home while you’re away, make sure to keep this tip in mind!

By the way, it may sound like a no-brainer to most, but if you are headed out of town, make sure to also keep the heat on inside while away. You will have some added energy costs from heating a home while nobody’s there, but if it prevents you from dealing with a plumbing emergency, it’s well worth it!

 

Leave Cabinet Doors Open

 

As you may start to notice, the primary winter plumbing problem that you need to be mindful of involves pipes freezing. Whether it be indoors or outdoors, they can freeze for a few different reasons, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of various tactics you can implement to improve your odds of keeping everything in working order. Yet another one of these that you’ve likely heard before is leaving the cabinet doors under your bathroom or kitchen sink open. Will this provide complete protection? Not necessarily. However, this is an easy way to make sure some of the heat in your home is reaching those pipes that aren’t insulated under your sinks.

https://www.stinenichols.com/kansas-city/planning-ahead-for-winter-plumbing/

 

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