Avoid Frozen and Busted Pipes This Winter

It’s getting to be that time of year again – goodbye long, sunny days and hello short, cold ones!  That’s the best, and worst, part of living in the great state of Ohio. With the winter months comes the cold and freezing weather; this means frozen and busted pipes are not too far away.  

How do people get frozen and busted pipes?

Many people leave their hoses connected all year round. Unfortunately, doing this causes the most issues and problems when it comes to frozen and busted lines and outside faucets. 

How To Prevent Frozen and Busted Pipes

Here are just a couple of things you can do to help prevent plumbing related nightmares and insurance claims from happening:

  • Make sure to disconnect any and all of your hoses from your outside faucets. This includes hose bibs, yard hydrants and any other types of outdoor watering/ irrigation.
  • If you have shut off valves/isolation valves for any or all of your outside faucets, now is a good time to go ahead and shut them off.
  • While checking your outside faucets, if you notice that one of them is leaking or dripping DO NOT just thread a cap on the end. Don’t use any other type of shut off valve, either. Doing so will simply keep the frost proof/freezeless faucet from doing its job. Your faucet will just end up freezing, splitting & leaking, therefore causing you a lot of heartache and money the next time you use it. Give us a call right away and we’ll solve this leaking/dripping issue!

Some other easy fixes and things you can do to help protect your home’s plumbing in the winter months are:

  • If you have crawl space and basement vents, now is the time to close them off and seal them up. No matter whether your home is on a concrete slab, crawl space or basement, any plumbing that may be on an outside wall needs some extra protection. Especially on those really cold days!
  • Leave the cabinet doors open around your bathroom, kitchen & laundry sinks. This allows warmer air to circulate around your pipes.
  • You can also leave any faucets open & dripping slightly. A slow dripping faucet will only cost you around $3.50 a day. That’s a lot cheaper than a $500.00 – $1000.00+ insurance deductible for repair! (Not to mention your rates going up.)

Need Help?

The bottom line is that cold weather and cold temperatures + water and water lines = a disaster waiting to happen! Don’t hesitate to give A-Abel Plumbing a call if you have any questions or concerns. We’re here if & when you need us… Because it’s always something!