How To Prevent Frozen Pipes This Season

As temperatures start to drop in the St Louis area, you may start to notice that your water is taking a little longer to heat up or that it’s not running as well. This could be a sign that your pipes are more susceptible to freezing or even bursting. Frozen pipes or burst pipes can be costly and timely to repair. In order to prevent frozen pipes, there are a number of precautions you can take.

Start By Identifying Which Pipes Are Most Likely To Freeze

Frozen pipes burst once they have become cold enough to freeze the water inside. Temperatures this low typically occur in exterior walls or in exposed outdoor pipes, and this is where we see the most damage to pipes. 

Prevention is critical when it comes to frozen pipes burst. In order to know if your home or business is properly equipped to handle the cold temperatures, we recommend an inspection done by our team of plumbing experts. There are, however, steps you can take on your own to ensure that you are ready for the colder months. 

Prevent Frozen Pipes With These Steps:

Insulate your pipes

Using heat tape or heating cable to wrap your pipes can be the difference between a working faucet and a frozen pipes burst. Many homeowners ask us how to keep pipes from freezing without heat. Some other insulation options include foam pipe sleeves and extra insulation in the walls around your pipes. 

Drain excess water

Most homeowners know to drain their pools once summer is over, but many neglect to drain their hoses or sprinkler systems. Frozen hoses can put a great deal of pressure on your internal plumbing and cause major issues. In order to prevent frozen pipes, we recommend that you not only drain, but also remove and store your hose and sprinkler system inside during the colder months. 

Control the temperature

Unfortunately, it is impossible to control the temperatures outdoors, but you can take steps to regulate the temperature inside your home and around your water pipes. We recommend keeping your garage door closed as the temperatures get lower to keep the cold air out. We also recommend opening any cabinets where your pipes are located in order to circulate warm air down below. Finally, you should try to keep the temperature in your house the same during the day and night in order to help prevent frozen pipes.

Even when proper insulation and maintenance is achieved, the age or durability of the pipes may still play a role in a frozen or burst pipe problem. If you do have frozen pipes burst, we have crews ready to respond 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. With over 30 years experience in water mitigation, we can help you through the process. Stay warm out there! 

Give Pride Cleaning & Restoration a call today at (314) 668-1223 for an inspection!