With winter and colder temperatures here, it’s time to start worrying about frozen pipes. Your first task should be to unhook any hoses that you have connected to outdoor spigots. Leaving these connected can quickly result in pipes freezing and bursting, which can lead to water leaking into your walls inside.
About one in 55 home owners will submit a property claim due to water leaking or freezing this year. And water in your pipes typically begins to freeze when temperatures outside reach 20-degrees. That’s not far off in Oklahoma. So, here are some precautions to take to keep your pipes safe and warm this winter.
- Wrap and insulate
If you were cold in your home, you’d probably wear extra layers and maybe cover yourself with a blanket. It’s the same idea for your pipes to keep them from freezing. Foam pipe covers are available at virtually any hardware store and are inexpensive. Or, you could make a bigger investment for a more permanent solution and wrapping pipes with fiberglass insulation. Regardless of which option you choose, it’s much cheaper than the average $5-thousand cost of repairing a burst pipe.
- Exposed pipe
It’s important to also assess the environment of pipes in different areas of your home. Those on the exterior of your house, like an exterior faucet or spigot, are typically in the most danger of freezing. There are also pipes that lead from the exterior to the interior, and pipes located in colder areas, like the garage, or the basement in older homes. You can insulate these pipes as well, but if you’re going to be away from your home for an extended period of time, it might be a good idea to turn off the water completely and let the taps run dry to eliminate the risks.
- Keep the heat on
Speaking of going away for the holidays, many of us may consider turning off our thermostat or turning it very low. The idea is that you don’t need to spend money to heat a home that no one will be staying in. Even with no one home, however, your home needs to stay warm to keep pipes warm. Turning the heat off completely during the winter could leave your home below freezing, which could cause even interior pipes to freeze. Other items in your home, like electronics, could also be damaged by prolonged exposure to the cold. And, when you return home, heating up your home from these low temperatures puts a great deal of stress on your heating system and can actually cost more in energy costs than leaving it on.
- Running taps
This is probably the most common advice for preventing frozen pipes. Before a cold snap, leave faucets running. First, you want to leave a steady stream of water running from the tap, not just a drip. Second, this doesn’t actually keep water in your pipes from freezing. It does, however, minimize the damage. With water running, air pressure in the pipe is released, which can prevent tearing of the pipe even if freezing does occur. If you have both hot and cold taps, you’ll need to leave both running to accomplish this.
There’s no sure-fire way to tell your pipes are frozen until you turn on a faucet and no water comes out. If that happens this winter, turn off your water supply immediately. You could try to heat the frozen area by insulating it and heating it with a hair dryer, but be advised that dripping water is a potential electrocution hazard. Your best option is to call a professional plumber to fix the problem.
When you’re ready for a new home for your family, contact us at Perry Hood Properties. We build brand new homes in Tulsa, Bixby and Broken Arrow. You can start from scratch, or choose from our currently built and available homes.