How Homeowners Can Prevent Frozen Pipes
Winter can be a beautiful time of year. The fresh powdered snow on the ground and the frost covering the tree branches outside make it look like a winter wonderland. Though the dropping temperatures can cause some outdoor beauty, they can cause some havoc in the home.
When temperatures start to fall below freezing levels, the pipes in the home start to freeze too. When water freezes, it expands, and since the water is contained in small pipes, the pipes can end up bursting. Frozen pipes are actually one of the leading causes of pipe ruptures and pipe bursts.
This leaves homeowners with a big mess to clean up and a lot of expenses to repair the damages and stop it from happening again in the future. Luckily, there are a few methods that homeowners can try to prevent pipes from freezing and bursting.
Method 1: Use Heat Tape
Heating tape is a product used to raise the temperatures of various pipes and vessels in the home by using heat tracing cables. These cables use electricity to generate heat and protrude that heat to the water in the pipes. Heat tape is really easy to use.
It just wraps around the pipe like a coil. It helps to maintain the proper temperature of the water in the pipes by balancing the heat loss with the heat supplied. This method is a great way to not only reduce the likelihood of frozen and burst pipes but to eliminate it altogether.
Method 2: Insulate Pipes
Another method for preventing frozen pipes is to use pipe insulation, which can significantly lower their risk of becoming burst pipes. This type of insulation comes in long tubes with a slit in the side. They kind of look like those colourful floaty tubes that people have as pool toys.Remember those? The ones where people would blow through the hole and cause water to shoot out the other end? Those are the ones! Or at least, very similar. The pipe insulation has the slit up the side to make it easier to wrap around the pipes.
In addition to preventing frozen pipes, the insulation helps to control condensation on the pipe surface, save energy, and reduce any noise when the water flows through the pipes. Pipe insulation cannot completely eliminate pipe freezing, but it can increase the time required for the water to freeze, which reduces the risk of the pipes freezing as well.
For this reason, it’s best to start by insulating the pipes that are most at risk of freezing. This would likely be any pipes that are outside of the house or in lower levels of the house where temperatures are colder.
Method 3: Run a Small Drop of Water
The smallest drop of water into a lake can cause a ripple effect through the rest of the water. The same concept applies for preventing frozen pipes. Having a small drop of water constantly running in the plumbing water cycle will help to prevent blocks of ice from forming within the pipes.
And since it’s just a small drop of water, it won’t cause the sink to overflow or add much to the water bill, especially when compared to the costs of repairing a burst pipe and any additional damage that it caused.
About Lodder Brothers Limited
At Lodder Brothers Limited, better plumbing is their guarantee. Their goal is to make sure customers’ homes are kept in top condition with superior solutions and products. Their customer-first mentality is what motivates them to provide the best service possible.
