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One of the most challenging parts of living in West Michigan is dealing with a cold winter season. When it comes to your plumbing system, experiencing frozen pipes can be a big problem. Fortunately, we’re going to reveal to you our best tactics for helping to prevent pipes from freezing inside your home.
Understanding the Problem of Frozen Piping
When any of your water supply lines freezes up, it will prevent water from going to that plumbing fixture. If the frozen section is in your main water supply line, it will prevent you from getting any fresh water out of your home. This can be extremely frustrating as you won’t be able to have fresh water for drinking, bathing, and cleaning. Furthermore, when the water contained inside of your piping freezes, it will expand and push out on your piping.
This can cause extensive distortion, decreasing the structural integrity of the pipe. In severe cases, it can actually cause the pipe to crack, allowing water to seep out once the line thaws. This can cause a lot of damage to your home, as water doesn’t take very long to cause permanent damage. The best way to prevent frozen pipes is to be proactive.
Insulation
Start by insulating all of your home’s exposed piping. It’s typically most cost-effective to use a pipe sleeve that simply slides over the pipe run. However, if you can’t reach the pipe’s location or there isn’t enough room to maneuver the sleeve onto the pipe, you can use spray foam insulation. This will still provide a necessary barrier between the piping and the air to help minimize the pipe’s chance of freezing up on you.
Drain Outdoor Pipes
It’s highly likely that you have some piping heading to the outside of your home. These can be for things like hoses, outdoor kitchens, and even irrigation systems. Unfortunately, all of these lines can easily freeze up when outside temperatures dip below freezing.
It’s best to simply shut off the water going to these lines. You’ll want to drain the remaining water in the line to prevent it from freezing up. If you don’t have a bleeder valve where you can drain the line, be sure to open up the outdoor plumbing fixture. This will allow water to force out of the fixtures when it freezes instead of expanding the piping.
Use Heat Cables
If you have any unheated areas of your home where you have water going through them, these pipes need to get a heat cable. This cable simply wraps around the pipe and connects to a thermostat. This will detect when temperatures get near freezing and turn on the heat cable to warm up the piping. These heat cables are fairly inexpensive and are typically powered by electricity.
Open Up Enclosed Areas
It’s very common for piping to be run through enclosed areas for aesthetic appeal. Unfortunately, these areas can be relatively closed off to the hot air in your home. During particularly cold weather, it’s best to open up these enclosed spaces. For example, open up the cabinet doors under your kitchen sink. This will allow hot air to circulate around the piping to prevent it from freezing up on you.
Consider Leaving a Faucet Drip
When temperatures near zero, you may even want to consider leaving your plumbing fixture drip to prevent freezing. Moving water is harder to freeze than water that sits still in a pipe. Opt for choosing a faucet that’s the furthest from your main water supply valve. This will help to keep water moving throughout the large majority of your plumbing system. It isn’t recommended to use this method all of the time, as it can increase your water bill significantly.
Keep Your Heating System On
If your family is going to be spending any time away from home this winter season, you may want to consider shutting off your heating system to save money on your energy bills. It’s best to avoid doing so, as it could allow your pipes to freeze up. Instead, opt for setting your thermostat at 55 degrees Fahrenheit or higher to prevent freezing.
Have Pipes Rerouted Through Heated Locations
One of the biggest problems that homeowners can run into with older homes is that there is plumbing in one or more of their exterior walls. Exterior walls are more prone to freezing temperatures than interior ones. Opt for having any pipes in your exterior walls rerouted to your interior walls.
How to Handle a Frozen Pipe
While you may do your best to prevent frozen pipes from happening, they do occur from time to time. Knowing how to handle the issue promptly will give you the best chance of reducing your risk of experiencing expensive water damage. The very first thing you want to do is look at the pipe.
Look for any potential damage or distortion to your piping. Any damage should undergo an assessment by a local plumbing professional before continuing to use the piping line. You’ll want to shut off the water going to the frozen area of piping. If possible, shut off the closest supply valve. If there isn’t one, then shut off the main water supply valve.
This is absolutely imperative to prevent a large amount of water from flowing out of any leak when the pipe thaws out. If you notice that your piping has cracking or distortions, then place a bucket under that location. This will help to catch some of the water as the pipe unfreezes.
Next, turn on a faucet close to the line. This will allow water to push out of the piping as the ice thaws out. You can speed up the thawing process by heating up the frozen area of piping. However, you need to be very mindful of the method you use. You don’t want to heat up the pipe too much as it can become damaged. Avoid open flames. Instead, go with a heat gun, blow dryer, or space heater.
Filing an Insurance Claim
If a pipe does happen to burst in your home, it can be very damaging, to say the least. If there is a visible amount of water on your floor that has affected your carpeting, electrical outlets, and other features, you’ll likely want to file an insurance claim. Be sure to document that process so that you can submit them along with your insurance claim.
Take pictures of the entire scenario and all of the damage that has occurred. Keep any receipts that you have for your plumber and/or water restoration company. It’s best to contact your insurance provider as soon as possible to report the damage and accelerate the claims process.
Trustworthy Plumbing Repair Service
Service Professor offers trustworthy plumbing repair services to the Kalamazoo, MI area. We can assist with all your heating, air conditioning, plumbing, indoor air quality, dryer vent cleaning, thermostat, air duct cleaning, drain, sewer, and electrical needs in West Michigan. Call us today to book your next service consultation with one of our service professionals.
