Here in Beckley, WV, we experience sub-freezing temperatures for at least five months of the year. That makes the threat of frozen pipes in your home very real. A frozen pipe can burst, leading to severe water damage. To avoid that, you must prepare your home’s plumbing to get through each winter safely. The good news is that doing so isn’t hard. Here’s how.
Winterize Your Hose Bibs
When the cold arrives each winter, the first part of your plumbing it will affect is your hose bibs. They’re the only part of the average home’s plumbing system directly exposed to the elements. The trouble is that they also provide a conduit for the cold to enter your home. To protect your plumbing systems, winterizing your hose bibs is the best place to start.
Your first task is to determine what kind of hose bibs you have. In general, most homes have one of two varieties. Older homes often have standard bibs with straight hose connections and a top-mounted valve. Newer homes may have frost-free bibs, which look and act differently. They feature angled hose connectors and front-mounted valves. The front-facing valve is because frost-free bibs have long valve stems that reach into your home. That lets them stop their water supply inside your home, keeping it far from the elements.
If you have a standard bib, your first winterization task is finding and closing its indoor shutoff valve. Then, open the bib’s outdoor valve to drain any remaining water, closing it when none remains. Next, you should install an insulated cover on your hose bib. You can find such covers at your local hardware or home improvement store. For added protection, you can install the same covers over frost-free bibs. They can keep the rubber gaskets inside your bibs pliable and functional longer, preventing leaks.
Air Seal Your Home
Most of the plumbing in your home will avoid freezing due to your home’s heating system. However, if cold air from outside your home leaks in, it could lead to frozen pipes in otherwise warm spaces. Finding and fixing air leaks in your home’s exterior walls is necessary to avoid that. Begin with inspecting your home’s walls and foundation from the outside. If you find any gaps or cracks, seal them with caulking or expanding foam as appropriate. You can also install weatherstripping on your doors and windows to prevent any air leaks there.
Program Your Thermostat
Your home’s heating system is its best defense against frozen pipes. However, to maximize its effects, you must program your thermostat correctly. First, you should program your thermostat never to let your home’s temperature fall below 50 degrees. If possible, setting a 60-degree minimum temperature is even better. You should also remember to leave your thermostat program as-is when you’re away from home.
Insulate Vulnerable Pipes
Unfortunately, most homes have plumbing running through unheated spaces. That may include your home’s garage, basement, attic, or crawl spaces. Those pipes are almost as exposed to the elements as your hose bibs. For that reason, they also need extra protection to avoid freezing. Since cold-water pipes are most prone to freezing, they’re the ones to focus on. You can insulate cold water pipes with foam or rubber insulation sleeves. They’re inexpensive and straightforward to install, even in tight spaces. However, it’s essential to avoid gaps when adding such insulation. Even a tiny gap can ruin the effectiveness of the insulation.
Consider Installing Heat Tape
For even better protection for exposed pipes, consider installing heat tape. It can provide superior protection compared with insulation for various reasons. One is that heat tape can prevent freezing no matter how cold surrounding temperatures get. Heat tape, as its name implies, uses electricity to generate heat and transmit it into your pipes. Most heat tape kits use thermostatic controls to activate when conditions require it. They don’t rely on keeping heat inside your pipes like insulation does. As a result, heat tape can safeguard your plumbing even if your incoming water temperature drops below freezing.
If you use heat tape to protect an incoming supply line, its protection can extend elsewhere in your home. It can increase your water temperature to keep it above freezing as it travels through your home’s water distribution system. Additionally, you can use it to protect drain lines that don’t have constant water flows. Those pipes can be especially prone to freezing since running water resists freezing more than still water. Remember, though, that combining heat tape with insulation is unnecessary and inadvisable. So, if you wish to add heat tape to already-insulated pipes, you must remove its insulation first.
Open Your Cabinets on Frigid Nights
Although you may not realize it, your under-sink cabinets do an excellent job of keeping heat out. As a result, it can be as much as 20 degrees colder under your sinks than elsewhere in your home. On frigid days, that temperature differential can climb significantly. That creates an additional risk of freezing for the pipes under your sinks. Open your under-sink cabinet doors on extremely cold days to reduce that risk. A good rule of thumb is to do this whenever the outside temperature reaches 20 degrees or less. It will allow warm air from your home’s heating system to reach those vulnerable pipes.
Use Strategic Faucet Dripping
If you’re like most homeowners, you’re conditioned to avoid ever letting a faucet drip to conserve water. That’s a worthwhile best practice. The only exception to that rule is in the extreme cold. On those days, it’s smart to let at least one of your home’s faucets drip. The faucet to choose should be the one furthest away from your home’s incoming water line. That keeps water circulating through all of your home’s supply pipes. Since moving water resists freezing, this offers a simple way to protect your plumbing. And lest you worry about water waste, consider the following. At most, a slow-dripping faucet will use about a gallon of water in 24 hours. You could leave your faucet dripping for an entire month without seeing much of a water bill increase. By contrast, a burst pipe can cost you thousands of dollars in pipe repairs.
Local Plumbing Repair Specialists
If a pipe in your Beckley home freezes despite your best efforts, count on Childers Air Plumbing & Electric to help. We offer comprehensive plumbing services, including repair, maintenance, and installation. We handle everything from drains to water treatment and everything in between. We even provide 24/7 emergency services, should you ever require them. We’re also the company to trust with your home’s HVAC and electrical needs. We’ve served local homeowners since 1951 and have a multi-generational client base. Our expert HVAC technicians, plumbers, and electricians are leaders in their respective fields. Plus, we’re a Generac Authorized Dealer and a Trane Comfort Specialist. We also sell and install systems from Carrier, Rinnai, Kohler, and Mitsubishi Electric. So, if you have a plumbing problem in Beckley, contact our team at Childers Air Plumbing & Electric day or night!
