How to Keep Pipes from Breaking This Winter

When the freeze sets in, there’s always a big risk of pipes freezing and breaking because of the pressure. The main issue is that the temperature in certain areas of your home can get very low, especially if you leave to go on vacation or you have to be out of town for more than a week. Even during shorter periods, an intense wave of cold will freeze the water inside some of your water pipes which increases the pressure causing the pipes to crack or even burst.

According to experts, even a small crack 1/8 of an inch wide can cause up to 250 gallons of waters per day to spill on your property, which can lead to a lot of water damage.

Keep the Temperature in Your Home Above Freezing

The straightforward way to keep pipes from freezing is to ensure that the temperature in your home remains above freezing at all time – even when you’re away for a few weeks. For that purpose, you can consider setting the thermostat on your HVAC to a temperature above 50 degrees, keeping the garage door closed and keeping all the interior doors open. Although this approach means you have to deal with a slightly larger gas bill than you might have expected, it will be worth it, if it keeps your pipes from bursting.

Unfortunately, pipes can lead out of your home as well, so the following methods might also need to be used so you can make sure that none of the pipes that go outside your home will freeze either.

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Insulate the Pipes

Insulating your pipes is one of the best ways to protect them. If they’re properly insulated, on the one hand, the freezing temperatures won’t reach them so the water is not likely to freeze. On the other hand, the insulation will keep water from escaping even if there is a small crack, so your property should be safe until you have enough time to get home, spot the problem and call in a professional Denver plumbing company to deal with it.

The best way to insulate your pipes at short notice is by using heat tape or thermostatically controlled heat cables that can keep the temperature above freezing.

What you can also do is leave the water running slightly. Although this isn’t necessarily recommended if you leave your home for an extended period, leaving the faucet running even to a tiny extent will relieve some of the pressure in the pipes and prevent them from freezing.

Seek Advice from a Professional

You might not be aware of all the areas of your home where your pipes need the most protection, or there could be structural problems you have to deal with before winter to ensure that your pipes won’t break. To find out about all of that and more, simply call on your friendly local plumber to give you some advice and maybe check on some of the more vulnerable areas for you.

In some cases, your plumber might even detect pipes that are already slightly broken and leaking and that could be extremely vulnerable once the freeze sets in. So this is definitely an essential step if you want to properly protect your plumbing before winter.