Brrr, Your Pipes are Cold Too!
We’ve seen some intensely cold temperatures this winter here in Michigan, and that means bad news for your indoor plumbing. Did you know that frozen water pipes are one of the main causes of home flooding in the winter? We’ve already cleaned up after dozens of frozen pipe floods this season, most of which could have been avoided with some basic precautions.
Which Pipes Are At Risk?
While most of your water pipes are located in the heated parts of your home, any plumbing that runs on the exterior or in poorly-insulated areas is at risk of freezing over and costing you thousands in cleanup and repair costs.
When the water inside these pipes freezes, it expands, pushing at the constraints of the piping. If it expands too much, it can actually create breaks and cracks in the pipes. Then, when the water melts, it starts flooding your home, leaving you with damage that you may not even be able to detect until it’s too late. Even a small quarter-inch break can spill 250 gallons a day!
What Can I Do To Prevent Frozen Water Pipes?
Needless to say, cleaning up after water damage like that can be expensive and time-consuming. Luckily, frozen pipe floods are entirely avoidable with a little bit of preparation. Here are a few Simple & Quick ways to prevent frozen water pipes in your home this winter:
- Locate any exposed or exterior piping and insulate it! Wrap your vulnerable water pipes with any kind of insulating material – bath towels will even work in a pinch!
- Close the garage! If there are any water supply lines in the garage, keeping all doors closed will help keep heat inside.
- Keep the thermostat steady! Don’t lower the temperature at night, since the temperature fluctuation can increase your chance of freezing pipes.
- Let your faucets drip! When the temps fall to ridiculously cold levels, keeping the water flowing in your faucets will help prevent it from sitting in the pipes and freezing. A slow drip may slightly increase your water bill but will save you thousands in water damage repair costs!
- Headed to Florida? Keep your home higher than 55℉! If you can’t take the cold anymore ( who could blame you) and head for a more agreeable climate, keep the heat at 55℉ or higher. The last thing you want to come home to is a flooded basement!
A little bit of prevention now will go a long way towards avoiding flood damage this winter, saving you time, money, and headaches. With these Simple & Quick tips from the water damage restoration pros at Modernistic, you can be confident that your plumbing will be ready for the coldest temperatures this Michigan winter will throw at us.