Now before the freezing weather appears is the time to winterize your plumbing pipes. Water in pipes exposed to sub-freezing winter temperatures can expand and easily burst the pipe. Before this happens, take the following steps to protect your pipes form the ravages of the subfreezing weather.

Begin winterizing with the outdoor pipes. Start by draining your outdoor faucets. To do this, locate and turn off the outdoor water shutoff valve, usually found in the basement. Then drain the faucets completely. Then drain the valves using the small brass plug or cap. Tighten the cap to force all the water out of the valve. The go outside and shut off the faucet. If you don’t have an outdoor shutoff valve, then detach your hoses and wrap outdoor faucets or bibs, using newspaper or rags covered with plastic, fiberglass or molded foam. Follow manufacturer’s instructions to drain underground sprinkler systems.

Next you want to seal off any leaks, which might permit cold air to enter the house and contact vulnerable pipes. Caulk around pipes entering the home, electrical wires and dryer vents where they enter the house. Next close off the most vulnerable source of leak, the foundation vents. Use wood or Styrofoam blocks to plug the vents, and BE SURE TO OPEN UP THE VENTS IN THE SPRING.

Now move to the inside, and insulate all pipes in vulnerable unheated parts of the house, this includes the attic, the crawl space, the garage or basement. Insulate the pipes with insulating tape or molded pipe sleeve. Troublesome pipes can be wrapped with heat tape or thermostatically controlled heat cable. Particularly difficult pipes may need to be rerouted, check with your plumber.

Another troublesome area of the home is under the kitchen and bathroom cabinets. Pipes in these areas frequently run against the outside wall, they are cut off from warm air in the home, and if there is any air leak at all from the outside, this may cause problems. If you are concerned that the temperature in the cabinet may drop considerably than you should insulate the pipes, and in any case, you should keep the cabinet open during winter cold spells.

Extra precautions you can take include leaving a little water running, when the temperatures drop below freezing. Run cold water, to save on the bill, and run faucets furthest form the street so that all the water in the house is moving.

Finally, consider draining all the water in your plumbing system if you will be away from the house for more than a couple of days, and are expecting very cold weather. Turn off the water heater, turn off the main shut off valve, open all faucets, and then drain the valves. Then shut all the faucets.

If you take these precautions now, then you can sure that your home will be protected from a burst pipe this winter.

Thanks to A-1 Plumbing of Baltimore, a Burst pipe company, for sponsoring this report. If you live in the Metro Baltimore area, and have any questions about protecting your home from Burst pipe contact A-1 Plumbing now.

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