December 16, 2014
Anyone who has ever experienced pipes freezing within their home knows just how stressful this scenario can be. Turning on the shower to find that it barely even drips or discovering that your sink won’t turn on can be scary, making it impossible to get on with the day without fixing the issue at hand. What’s worse is that frozen pipes can burst if not fixed in short order, causing water damage and promoting the chances of mold growth.
The good news here is that preventing frozen pipes from being an issue is actually quite a bit easier than most people realize. Here are a few precautionary tips from Tom Rostron that can help to ensure your pipes never freeze, no matter how cold it gets outside.
1. Keep Your Home Relatively Warm
If you know that you have a problem with frozen pipes, it’s important to do everything you can to prevent things from getting worse. One of the best ways to do this is to keep your home relatively warm, preventing temperatures from falling so low that the pipes have a chance to freeze. This is especially important on exceptionally cold days.
2. Make Sure Warm Air Circulates
Even though one or more rooms in your home may be warm throughout the day, you’ve got to keep this air flowing throughout the entire house. This can be tricky depending upon how your home is designed, but you’ll often get a lot of mileage out of keeping doors open or utilizing fans to help promote better air flow.
3. Insulate Your Pipes
Pipes that aren’t properly insulated will be far more likely to freeze than those which are. Heat tape and sleeve insulation can be helpful here, especially if the pipes are located outside of the building envelope.
4. Insulate and Air Seal Your Basement or Crawlspace
Your home is a system, which means cold air that originates in your basement or crawlspace can easily spread throughout the home until it finally makes its way to the attic. This is referred to as the “chimney effect,” and the only way to keep it from being a problem is to insulate and air seal your basement or crawlspace.
5. Upgrade or Repair Your Heating System
If you end up having problems with your heating system, you can expect frozen pipes to enter into the equation at one point; especially in the dead of winter. Upgrading or repairing your heating system is the answer here, and it doesn’t have to cost you a fortune to do so.
It’s important to understand that frozen pipes are often a symptom of a larger problem happening within the home. Tom Rostron Company offers 24/7 emergency service and can help to pinpoint exactly what’s causing any problems you may be having before things get worse. Contact us today to learn more.
