February brings cold weather to Denver. So,
when you’re already shoveling the driveway, you don’t want to be dealing with
frozen pipes, too. In fact, this is one cold weather problem best left to the experts.
So, call us at Honest Plumbing in Denver. Our plumbers are licensed and insured
to give you the best skilled and experienced plumbers available.
If the water in your pipes begins to freeze,
it will stop the flow of water and this expanding ice can actually make your pipe burst. When your pipes
break it can cause tremendous damage and large amounts of water unleashed in
your house can create unhealthy situations like mold.
Today, let’s go over a few helpful tips about
dealing with frozen pipes.
Finding Your Pipes
Unless you built your house yourself, you
probably don’t know where all the house pipes are located. A pipe can be heated or
insulated in some parts of your home and completely exposed to the weather or
cold somewhere else. Even if just a small section of pipe freezes, it can cause
a pipe to break and that’s a huge problem. Our plumbers will examine your pipes
and let you know where your pipes need better protection or repair.
Add Insulation Around the Pipes
After we look everything over, we will use
insulation to protect the ones that are at risk and exposed to the cold.
Insulation is a small price to pay to prevent frozen pipes. For most pipes, you
will need foam tube insulation, but there may be some pipes in your house
facing extreme temperatures. For these, use specially designed heated tape to help reduce your
risk of dealing with frozen pipes.
Leave the Cabinet Doors Open
If you have a very cold night, you can leave
the doors under your sink open overnight. The warmth of your home will help
keep those pipes
warmer and give some protection from the freezing temperatures.
A Small Stream of Water
If you have an exposed pipe that you think
could freeze, a temporary fix is to let the water in the pipe run continuously.
It’s not a great option because it wastes water and if it’s an outside hose
spigot it could create a frozen ice puddle. But these problems are usually a better
choice than having your home flooded from a broken pipe. You don’t have to turn
the water on full blast. Just a little stream of water can often prevent a pipe
from freezing.
Unthaw the Pipes
When dealing with frozen pipes, use a hair
dryer on it to thaw it. Never use an open flame, to thaw the frozen section of
pipe.
Inspect Your Furnace
If your furnace breaks down, your pipes have
an increased risk of freezing. You will also and you have no heat for an
extended period of time. So, get your furnace inspected and tuned up before the
cold weather comes to keep you warm and avoid the potential for frozen pipes.
Water Shutoff Valve
If the worst case scenario happens and your
frozen pipes burst, you need to know where the main shutoff value is in your
home. Go find the shutoff valve now so when an emergency happens, you will know
how to turn off your home’s water supply to prevent major flooding in your
home. If you don’t know where your shutoff valve is, our plumbers can help you
find it.
February is here and so is cold Colorado
weather. If you are dealing with frozen pipes, call us at Honest Plumbing in Denver.
Our plumbers can help prevent a serious plumbing disaster that worries most
homeowners and we can fix your pipes if they break.
