How To Prevent Pipes From Freezing This Winter

prevent freezing pipes this winter
As winter gets underway here in Montana, cold weather will start to take over. Plummeting temperatures brings beautiful snow, but it also brings issues for homeowners. This time of year, homeowners begin to winterize their homes and prepare for cold weather. Frozen pipes are one of the biggest plumbing risks for homeowners, as a burst pipe can cause flooding and damage to the home. There are steps that each homeowner can take to prevent frozen or burst pipes, as well as prevent damage and repairs. As winter gets underway here in Montana, cold weather will start to take over. Plummeting temperatures brings beautiful snow, but it also brings issues for homeowners. This time of year, homeowners begin to winterize their homes and prepare for cold weather. Frozen pipes are one of the biggest risks for homeowners, as a burst pipe can cause flooding and damage to the home. There are steps that each homeowner can take to prevent frozen or burst pipes, as well as prevent damage and repairs.

Preventing Pipe Freezing

It can be easy to pipes to freeze in the winter, but it can also be just as easy to prevent freezing. Here are seven easy tips to preventing frozen pipes in Montana this winter.

Insulate Your Pipes

The best way to keep pipes from freezing is to insulate. Insulation specifically designed for pipe is fairly inexpensive and will keep your pipes insulated year after year. In a bind? You can also use duct tape and newspaper to temporarily insulate pipes if needed.

Keep Doors Closed

One way to keep out the cold is to keep doors closed, especially garage doors or other places that tend to get the coldest during the winter. This is especially important if water supply lines go through the garage. Smooth concrete in garages keep this area cool, which drops the temperature.

Open cabinets

Cabinets are another area that can get cold and stay cold. Every now and then, open your bathroom and kitchen cabinets to keep warm air circulating against the plumbing.

Drip faucets

It may seem counterintuitive, but one way to keep your pipes from freezing is to let your faucets drip. You don’t need to turn on all water sources but let the ones that are fed by exposed piping drip to keep water moving.

Seal cracks

Another long-term fix is to seal cracks and openings in your home. This will stop any drafts and prevent your pipes from getting too cold. This includes sealing crawl spaces to reduce the amount to cold air around your pipes.

Consistent temperature

If you are going away this holiday season, leave the heat on at home. While saving energy is nice, burst pipes are not. This will help prevent a burst pipe if temperatures drop. Additionally, try to keep the temperature in your home consistent to avoid drastic changes in temperature.

Open interior doors

Keeping interior doors open in your home helps keep temperatures consistent and air flowing.

What To Do If Your Pipes Freeze

Even the best preparations may not always prevent every issue. If your pipes do freeze but have not yet burst, there are a few things you can do to help unfreeze your pipes.

If your pipes are not ruptured, follow these steps to unfreeze your pipes:

  • Turn on the faucet. As the ice plug melts, this will help melt the rest of the ice and get the water moving.
  • Apply heat to the frozen portion of the pipe, such as an electrical heating page or a portable space heater.
  • Apply heat until water pressure is restored.
  • Check other faucets for signs of freezing – if one pipe has frozen, others may as well.

However, do take care – if a pipe has burst, unfreezing your pipes may cause flooding. If you don’t know where the pipes have frozen or cannot tell if the pipes are leaking, call your kalispell plumbing professionals at Central Heating.

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