New York gets some very cold winters, and therefore, it is important to protect interior plumbing from freezing up. As many people know, when water freezes it expands. Many residential and commercial plumbing or piping gets damaged each year from frozen pipes. To help save the homeowner some stress, Agape Air Conditioning, Heating & Plumbing would like to share a few tips on how you can prevent your pipes from freezing in hopes we can prepare more residents of New York for the upcoming winter season.
How to Prevent Water Pipes from Freezing
Fall officially began on September 22nd and winter preparations should either be well underway or finished by now. You don’t want to wait until winter to begin preparing your home for winter. It may already be too late for some tardy residents. By the end of November temperatures throughout New York state may already reach freezing temperatures. As stated, one of the common victims of winter is residential and commercial piping. When water freezes it expands and bursts the pipe open. To help prevent your pipes from freezing over, we have listed a few tips that can help save your home’s plumbing.
Keep the garage door closed – Always keep the garage door closed, especially if you have water supply lines running through the garage. You may also want to insulate the exposed pipes.
Open up the kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors – By opening up the cabinet doors the house’s sinks and plumbing lines are more accessible to the warmth of heaters. Opening the doors allows the warm air to circulate inside the cabinets and warm up the pipes. The warmth of air and water can help prevent your home’s pipes from freezing.
Maintain a flow of water – One way to prevent freezing of the pipe is by allowing the cold side of the tap to slowly drip. The constant, yet slow flow of water can help prevent pipes from freezing over. All that is needed is a trickle or a drip from the cold water line. The hot side should never cool down enough to freeze.
Maintain a warm internal temperature – Both day and night, the interior temperature should have a maintained warmer temperature. Often homeowners will allow the temperatures to drop inside their home when no one is home. However, this is a mistake. Even if the temperature is above freezing, water is naturally cooler and will freeze. If you even leave a for family trip during the holidays, do not turn off your heaters. Instead, drop it no lower than 55 degrees. Maintain the same temperature all day and night until your return.
Check home’s insulation – All insulation will wear down or degrade over time. It is important to check your home’s insulation and make sure it is still in working and good condition. Your home insulation plays a major role in keeping your plumbing warm during the winter seasons. Exposed piping should be covered with insulation foam wraps to help keep the pipes warm enough to prevent freezing. This can include interior and exterior piping, especially those pipes around wells.
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If you need help repairing or protecting your home’s piping, contact Agape Air Conditioning, Heating & Plumbing for all of your HVAC and plumbing needs.
