Minnesota is no stranger to cold, snowy weather. The winter months can bring massive amounts of snow, ice, and frigid temperatures. Luckily, that makes the fall an excellent time to ensure that your plumbing will get through cold weather with minimal problems. Preparing your pipes and fixtures now can help avert catastrophes during blizzards and other extreme weather events. Consider performing these easy steps to winterize your plumbing in and around Aitkin County.
Why You Should Protect Your Plumbing
Preparing your plumbing for cold weather helps avoid costly damage to your home. Frozen pipes pose a significant risk to your home’s plumbing. Water expands when it freezes, causing pipes to burst and resulting in water damage to walls, floors and more. In the coldest days of winter, you may wait days to get emergency service, leaving you without running water and potentially causing further damage. While you can do many of these tasks now, you’ll need to perform others during the coldest months to ensure your plumbing continues to run. Start by attending to outside pipes and fixtures. However, before you do anything, make sure you know where the main water cutoff valve is located. Knowing this location can make a big difference if you have a winter water problem.
Insulate Exposed Pipes and Fixtures
Insulating exposed pipes and fixtures will keep them as warm as possible. If you don’t have a hose bib or faucet cover, wrap rags or towels around them and secure them with duct tape. Buy foam pipe covers and pipe wrap tape at your local hardware store and install this protective layer before winter sets in. Don’t forget about pipes in unheated areas of your home, such as garages, crawl spaces, basements, and attics. Keeping pipes warm wherever they are located will reduce the risk of bursting.
Shut Off Outdoor Faucets
To prevent burst pipes, keep water out of outdoor pipes. Locate the shutoff valve for outdoor pipes and open the faucets to drain the remaining water. Do this task as soon as you’re done using outdoor water for the season. Consider placing hose bib covers over the faucets to provide an extra layer of protection.
Disconnect and Store Garden Hoses
This is a crucial step to prevent frozen pipes and water damage. After you have turned off the water supply, release the pressure remaining within the hose by opening the outdoor faucet and letting it run until the water stops. Coil the hose neatly to avoid kinks and store it in a dry location like a garage or shed to prevent damage from harsh winter weather.
Take Care of Your Sprinkler System
If you have a lawn sprinkler system, winterizing it is essential to ensure its longevity. The steps are similar to those for other fixtures. Locate the system’s water supply valve and shut it off to prevent water from flowing into the system. Drain the system by using an air compressor or manual drain valve to remove excess water from pipes and sprinkler heads. Open the drain valve to release system pressure, and then open each zone’s control valve to allow water to drain completely. Insulate exposed pipes, control valves, backflow preventers and exposed sprinkler heads. Disconnect removable components, drain them thoroughly and store them in a dry and protected area.
Protect Your Interior Water Supply
Extreme temperatures can also affect your interior pipes. Some steps can be taken while the weather is still warm, while others kick in when temperatures dip significantly below freezing. By spending a few minutes, you can ensure your interior plumbing remains undamaged and functional throughout the winter.
Seal Air Leaks
Cold air can easily slip through small openings in your home. Identify air leaks near plumbing pipes and seal them with expandable foam and insulation. Check for gaps around windows, doors, and utility access points, paying particular attention to where wires, pipes, or cables pass through walls. Cold air can also leak through damaged areas between floor joists. Use weatherstripping, caulking or other appropriate measures to keep warm air inside. Updating your weather sealing will also help you save on utility costs throughout the year, making it an excellent home investment.
Maintain a Consistent Temperature
Keep your home adequately heated, even when you are not there. Avoid shutting off the heat or setting the thermostat too low to avoid frozen pipes. Set a minimum indoor temperature of 55 degrees Fahrenheit to ensure interior plumbing remains above freezing. Smart thermostats can help you track temperature whether you are home or away. With most systems, the associated app can send an alert to your phone if your home falls to a dangerous temperature. You can then turn up the heat remotely to keep your residence and plumbing pipes from freezing.
Turn Off the Water When You Are Out of Town
Locate the valve for the main water supply and shut it off. Knowing where your main water supply valve is is also essential if you experience burst pipes during the winter. Once you have shut the supply valve, open all hot and cold faucets to drain the system of any remaining water. This step will ensure no water freezes inside your pipes when you are away.
Extra Steps to Take During Extreme Temperatures
Many winters have extended cold spells where outdoor temperatures drop below 0 degrees Fahrenheit. Your plumbing is most vulnerable during these periods, so consider taking some of these additional steps to protect your pipes.
Keep Cabinets Warm
This step is especially important if you have cabinets with pipes that go through outside walls. To protect your pipes, leave cabinet doors open to let warm air in from your home.
Let Faucets Drip
Many homeowners already know this classic method of keeping pipes clear. When the temperatures dip way below freezing, opening a faucet to allow a steady drip of water will keep the system flowing. What you pay in extra water bills will more than compensate for plumbing fees for broken pipes.
Northern Air Plumbing & Heating Can Help All Year Long in Minnesota
As a full-service plumbing and heating services company serving the residents of Aitkin, MN, and the surrounding areas, you can look to us for your home’s comfort needs. Since 1991, we’ve proven that we’re driven to make sure you get you plumbing solutions that last. We’re skilled in all plumbing repairs, including fixing leaks or cleaning drains. There’s no job too big or too small for our might team.
We provide a wide variety of maintenance and repair services for plumbing and HVAC, including heating maintenance, plus quality systems and products when you need replacements. We have decades of experience backed by high-quality tools, techniques, and customer service.
When you need high-quality plumbing or HVAC services in Aitkin, don’t hesitate to call Northern Air Plumbing & Heating for a service appointment or consultation. We go all out to get the job done right!
Tags: Plumbing Tips, Plumbing Tools