Winterizing Your Plumbing System
It’s getting colder and with that cold comes the hassle of frozen / broken pipes, if you don’t take a few precautions. Here are a few winterizing tips that just might keep me from having to make a service call to your house.
Winterizing Hose Bibs
#1 Disconnect all hoses from your hose bibs!
Most hose bibs installed these days are frost free which shuts the water off inside the wall away from the outside cold but, if you do not disconnect the hose the water stays trapped in the spout.
When the water freezes it expands and will damage the hose bib.
This problem is usually discovered in the spring or summer when you turn on the bib for the first time and find water is coming out of your wall.
Doing this will save you a costly repair!!
#2 Hose bib covers..
You can get these at any of your local home improvement stores.
They are foam, dome shaped covers you put over your hose bib.
These covers help keep the cold away from the hose bib.
Hose bib covers are more important for non-frost free hose bibs but it wouldn’t hurt to put them an all of your outdoor faucets.
Putting these on will also help to remind you to disconnect your hoses.
These covers cost about 1-2 dollars and are a wise investment.
Insulate Piping
Many people often don’t realize the importance of insulating piping until it is too late and pipes are frozen and broken.
All pipes in crawl spaces and any piping that is exposed on the outside of buildings or above the ground needs to be insulated.
Pipes in garages that are not heated are also vulnerable to freezing in cold weather and should be insulated.
Pump Houses
All exposed piping in pump houses should be insulated.
It is also important to have some heat in your pump house so your piping and pressure tank do not freeze.
Your local home improvement store will have several different winterizing options for you to help keep your pump house warm and your pressure tank and piping from freezing.
Items to look for or ask about are heat wire, this is wrapped around piping and warms up when plugged in, it keeps your pipes from freezing.
Heat lamps can also be installed near your pressure tank and piping and will help keep your pressure tank and piping warm to protect from freezing.
Both of these options can be plugged into a temperature sensing plug that turns on when it gets below a certain temperature and turns off when it gets above a higher temperature.
These can also be purchased at your local home improvement store and are another great defense against broken pipes and expensive repairs.
