If you are a homeowner in the Denver, CO, area, the winter months are a time for family and loved ones, not for worrying about if your pipes are going to freeze. Frozen pipes can put a roadblock in your daily routine, require costly repairs, and even damage your home should you wind up with one that bursts. In order to avoid such an occurrence, we would like to offer some simple tips on keeping your pipes from freezing this winter.
Disconnect Your Hoses
One easy thing you can get in the habit of doing ahead of the cold season is unattaching your garden hoses. The best time to do this is once you are finished tending to your garden for the fall. In an effort to be thorough and avoid any damage to your hoses, once they are disconnected, go ahead and drain them and store them. Also, take the time to close shut-off valves that supply water to any outdoor hose bibs as well as drain the line by opening up the outdoor faucet. Be mindful to keep it open all winter, which will allow any water that remains to expand. Draining water from sprinkler lines is also recommended. You may also want to consider faucet covers as extra insurance against freezing pipes.
Insulate Exposed Pipe
A simple and affordable method of helping to prevent pipes from freezing during the winter is to insulate any exposed pipes. You should go ahead and insulate any pipe that is exposed, but special attention ought to be paid to the unheated areas of your home. Some examples would be any crawlspace, the attic, the garage, and the basement. Pipes underneath the kitchen or bathroom sinks should also be insulated, as they are particularly susceptible to freezing.
There are a few different types of materials that can be used for insulating pipes. The most common are foam pipe sleeves. These are pre-cut foam pieces that fit easily around a water pipe. Another method is the use of fiberglass wraps. Fiberglass for pipe insulation comes in rolls and can be a more cost-effective option than pipe sleeves, but many homeowners find this method more difficult. For peace of mind that the insulation job has been done properly, we recommended having one of our licensed technicians assist in winterizing your pipes.
Seal Air Leaks
Having a professional seal any air leaks that may be present in your home is a smart safeguard against your pipes freezing during the winter. A trained technician can go throughout your household to locate and seal any cracks or openings that are likely to let in cold air during the winter months. Cold air seeping in through leaks will lower the temperature around your pipes, potentially causing a freezing event. Some of the most common areas where air leaks are discovered include electrical outlets, light switches, attics, crawlspaces, and basements.
Keep a Consistent Temperature
Having your thermostat set at a constant temperature during the winter can help prevent your pipes from freezing. Turning down your thermostat at night is recommended to keep down energy costs, but this could be detrimental to the health of your pipes during extremely cold months. You want to be sure to not let the temperature of your home get below 55 degrees Fahrenheit. If you plan on leaving your home, you set your thermostat so that your home’s temperature doesn’t drip lower than that.
Let Your Faucets Drip
Allowing your faucets to drip throughout the winter is one of the simplest and most popular methods of preventing pipes from freezing. The reason for this is that moving water is less likely to freeze than that which is sitting. This method works best when it is employed for all of the faucets in your home that are served by exposed pipes. It is not even necessary for the drip to be hot water, as the temperature of the water is not as relevant as keeping a steady flow. Along with preventing a freeze, keeping your faucets dripping also helps to relieve pressure once there is a freeze, which prevents ruptures from occurring.
Open Your Cabinets and Doors
An often overlooked but easy precaution to take to prevent freezing is to keep your cabinets and doors that surround any exposed pipes in the kitchen, bathroom, or other areas of the home open. This allows for warm air in your home to make its way to your pipes. While this is a helpful step, it should not be your only line of defense during the winter months. Doing this in conjunction with some of the other methods listed above, however, can be highly effective.
What To Do if Your Pipes Do Freeze
If you believe that one of your pipes has indeed frozen, you can check by first turning on your faucet. If only a trickle or just a few drops come out, there is likely a blockage somewhere in the line. Assuming your water had run easily up to this point and the temperature has been below freezing for a while, the issue is likely water frozen inside of the pipes. At this point, you are going to want to have a member of our team at High 5 Plumbing, Heating & Cooling come out to help. Making an attempt to thaw out a pipe on your own if there is already a burst could result in flooding and property damage to your residence. As a safeguard, before a technician’s arrival, turn off the main water supply.
Once the plumbing professional arrives, they will likely check the exposed pipe for any signs of cracking. If it is safe to do so, they will then apply heat to safely warm the frozen area and melt the ice that is inside the pipe.
Your Denver Frozen Pipe Specialists
If you are in the Denver area and are concerned about your pipes freezing this winter, our team at High 5 Plumbing, Heating & Cooling can help prepare your home and ease your concerns. We are specialists in the field and have been providing this type of service to members of the community for over a decade. Our plumbing services also extend to a wide range of installation, repair, and maintenance options. We also make it simple for our clients who have other household needs by providing heating, cooling, and electrical services as well. That means that whether you need drain cleaning, air conditioner repairs, or ceiling fan installations, it is all available here at High 5 Plumbing, Heating & Cooling under one roof.
We won the 2022 Angi’s List Super Service Award and 2022 Small Business of the Year from the Denver Chamber of Commerce. That means that you can rely on us to provide excellent services. Give us a call today for more about what we can do for your home.
