Preparing Your Pipes for the Winter

Late summer or early autumn are the best times to prepare your home’s pipes for the harsh winter. While most of a home’s pipes are in hidden areas, the cold winter temperatures can damage the items, leading to a major problem that is difficult to repair during a blizzard. Here are a few ways that you can prepare your home’s pipes for the winter.

Way 1: Inspect a Home’s Pipes Thoroughly

You should have a blueprint of your home that shows where all of the pipes are located on the interior and exterior of the building. Use a flashlight to inspect the pipes in dimly lit areas such as utility closets or cellars. In addition to a visual inspection, touch the pipes, connectors or faucets to determine if there is any moisture on the items that can indicate that the items are degrading.

Way 2: Drain Exterior Pipes to Prevent Expansion

Make sure to drain any exterior pipes to prevent expansion from ice. After turning the faucets off, check the pipes in a few days to ensure that all of the water has been drained from the devices. Exterior faucets are often located near a building’s foundation in locations near a garden or a driveway.

Way 3: Make Exterior Faucets Easier To See

It is a good idea to paint the exterior faucet handles with a bright color such as orange, red or yellow that is easier to see at night or during a snowstorm. If there is a plumbing emergency during the winter, a plumber can find the faucets faster to complete a repair.

Way 4: Wrap a Home’s Pipes with Insulating Tape

Visit a home improvement store to buy adhesive insulating tape, and wrap this material around any pipes that are located in cold areas. This includes exterior areas outside your home, but you can also wrap insulation tape around the pipes that are in the basements of your home.

Way 5: Check Your Home’s Water Heater

It is essential to check your home’s water heater because cold temperatures can also affect this appliance. If the holding tank or pipes of the water heater are rusty, then it is time to replace the appliance with a newer energy-efficient model that will use less power each day to heat water.

Way 6: Cover Exterior Faucets with Insulating Devices

When you are buying insulation tape for your home’s pipes, you can also find special devices that will protect the exterior faucets. These formfitting devices are easy to place over the faucets in the autumn, and you can remove the covers in the spring to reuse the items another year.

Way 7: Plan To Keep Warm Air Circulating In a Home

As winter approaches, you must make sure to keep your home warm enough so that the water in the pipes won’t freeze. If you have water pipes in colder areas of your home, then you must plan ahead by having space heaters in these places to protect the pipes.