With winter coming, the cold weather can wreak havoc on the pipes in your home, if you’re not taking proper precautions. Along with freezing up your water lines and leaving you without water, frozen pipes can also burst, and cause thousands of dollars in damage. Thankfully, there are ways to prevent the pipes in your home from freezing. Here’s how to do it, once you start seeing the wintry weather hit.
Keep Garage Door Closed
If you have supply lines running through your garage, you’ll want to keep the door closed when the freezing weather comes. This will hold in some warmth the house, and prevent the lines from freezing.
Cabinet Doors
Another step you can take is to open the kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors in your home. This will allow the warmer air in the house to circulate around the plumbing, keeping it from freezing, especially if the sinks are on an external wall. If you have smaller children in the house, remember to remove any harmful chemicals or cleaners from the cabinets.
Cold Water
Letting the cold water drip from a faucet supplied by exposed supply lines can keep the water moving, and prevent the line from freezing up.
Thermostat
Keep your thermostat at the same temperature both day and night. If you’re going to be away from home for an extended period of time, make sure to set the thermostat no lower than 55 degrees.
Insulate
For a longer-term solution to freezing pipes, consider insulating your attic or crawl spaces, where pipes are exposed to the cold.
If the pipes do freeze, there are steps you can take to remedy the problem. First, keep your faucets open. As the frozen area begins to melt, water will run through the pipes, helping to melt the ice. Using an electric hair dryer, a portable space heater, towels wrapped in hot water, or an electric heating pad, apply heat to the pipe where it appears to be frozen. Be careful doing this, and don’t use propane or gas heaters, blow torches, or charcoal stoves. They’re all a serious fire hazard.
Frozen pipe help in the New Orleans and Metairie areas
If the pipes in your home have frozen, and you can’t seem to get them unthawed, it’s a good idea to bring in the professionals. Call Bienvenu Brothers today at (504) 835-7783, and our friendly team will help you make the best decision for your comfort and budget.