The snow and deep freezes of winter are here, and with them comes danger to the pipes in your home. A frozen pipe is a disaster waiting to happen, since it can easily become a burst pipe that can do serious damage to your house and be a complete headache to fix, as well as a preventable expense. As a homeowner, you need to keep your pipes in mind during cold weather, but that doesn’t mean you need to be losing sleep over the state of your plumbing. There are a few small preparations and precautions you can use to help keep your pipes from freezing this winter that will save you a lot of stress. Joe Mrochko, our Vice President of Inside Operations here at Schuler Service, recently spoke to WFMZ to share some tips from the experts. Here’s what he had to say!
Think Ahead
“Anytime it’s below 20 degrees it starts to become a danger,”
Joe Mrochko said to WFMZ. As a homeowner, keeping an eye on the weather is just something you have to get into the habit of doing. Knowing not only what temperature it will be during the day when you’re out and about, but also what the temperature will drop to at night is very important to knowing when you need to take precautions to protect your plumbing.
Know Your Home
The most important thing you can do to protect your pipes this winter is to be familiar with your home and know whether or not you’re at risk for a frozen pipe. Houses that are older, have poor insulation, or both tend to be at higher risk, but that doesn’t mean that other houses are completely in the clear. If you’ve had problems with pipes freezing before, you should definitely take steps to prevent future freezes.
Keep the Temperature Up
It seems obvious, but the easiest way to keep a pipe warm is to keep your house warm. Bumping your thermostat up a little is a good preventative measure to take on cold nights. WFMZ continues,
“You should also open the cabinet doors under your sink. This helps bring the room’s temperature to the pipe area, in turn keeping them warm.”
Leave the Water Dripping
Still water freezes faster than moving water, so a good countermeasure to take against frozen pipes is to leave your faucets or showerheads dripping so that the water keeps moving through them. This should help them be more resistant to freezing. If you’re worried about the water waste, try collecting the drip in a watering can and using it to water your houseplants!
Have A Plan
When all else fails, you should definitely have a plan for what to do if your pipes do end up freezing or bursting. Know where in your home to find the main water shutoff– the valve that controls all the water coming into your house. The first thing to do when you realize a pipe has frozen or burst is to head straight there and turn it off to minimize the damage. From there you can work on assessing the situation and calling in a plumber if needed.
If you’re dealing with a burst pipe or other troublesome plumbing problem at home, Schuler Service can help you! We’ve been providing professional plumbing services in Allentown, PA and Lehigh County for nearly 100 years, so contact us today to discuss your problem and we’ll work on helping you get back to normal.
