When water freezes inside a plumbing pipe it expands and pressure increases. Whether the pipe is made of copper, plastic or steel, it has a breaking point. Once a plumbing pipe cracks, hundreds of gallons of water a day can get released and cause thousands of dollars in damage.
Vacation homes that remain vacant for weeks or even months at a time are especially vulnerable. But it can happen even in your principal residence if you're away for a few days or even hours at the wrong time.
Here are some tips to help you make sure your plumbing system doesn't turn your sweet dreams into a nightmare.
- Kitchen sinks tend to be positioned near an outer wall, and some bathrooms are as well. Rarely are these plumbing pipes insulated and they often are the first to freeze in extremely cold weather. The easiest way to guard against this is to simply leave the cabinet doors open below the sink or lavatory if you'll be away for any length of time. The interior heat from your home will help keep the pipes from freezing.
- Better yet, insulate any pipes that might be near an exposed wall. For severe exposures, you may want to consider electrically heated insulating cables.
- Be sure to turn off and drain any outdoor hose spigots before winter arrives. For spigots exposed to prevailing winter winds, you might even want to consider insulating them. If a spigot is leaking, get that fixed before winter arrives.
- For vacation or second homes that remain unoccupied for long stretches, it's best to shut off the main water supply then drain all toilets, faucets and water heaters. It takes only a few minutes to get the water flowing again when you return. Water heaters may take an hour or more to recover, but that's a small price to pay considering the potential damage from freezing.
- Water heaters have to work harder in winter, so call us for periodic maintenance to remove deposits that decrease efficiency, lead to corrosion and shorten the life span.
Don't want to bother remembering all this? Call us and ask about a plumbing service agreement that will guarantee periodic inspection, maintenance and winterization for your entire plumbing system.
