Knowhow-Now Article

Take These Winterizing Steps For The Plumbing In Your Home

One of the major problems for many during the winter months is many types of plumbing issues. Do you know how to take care of your pipes during the winter? If not, it is time to learn, so you need to make sure you pay attention to the following tips. Think about what you can do differently, and take these winterizing steps for the plumbing in your home.

Tip: If you possess pipes that are alive with the sound of squeaking or hammering, you have an issue that is easily corrected. If pipes are exposed, you must anchor them.

Always be sure you clear your gutters during the winter time. If you don't they can freeze and jam up, causing you major problems when the freezing water mixes with the debris. Gutters should be clear and clean from the fall leaves by the time winter arrives.

Tip: Frozen pipes are on of the worst plumbing problems. Prevent the pipes from freezing by insulating any sections of pipe that are close to the outside walls, and never allowing the temperature inside to be below freezing.

Always be sure you're insulating your pipes on the outside of your home. Most people have at least some exposed pipe around their home. This pipe needs to be insulated. Why? Well first it can crack and break, but it can also affect the piping under your home, which can cause even more extensive damage. One thing leads to another, and you have to make sure the pipes are insulated.

Tip: If your toilet will not flush, and there is very little water in the basin, try to fix the issue by dumping warm water in the bowl from around your waist line. This procedure can be repeated if the water level again returns to a level that is too low.

Have you heard of people leaving the water dripping with one or more of their faucets? This can be helpful because the pipes are not inactive, but they are also not completely running. It's a fine line because leaving them running even a little bit can actually cause problems. But leaving a drip is different because it helps prevent especially less active faucets and pipes from freezing.

Tip: Check for softness in your floor to determine flood damage. Sit on your toilet and sway across both feet to feel if there are any spots less firm than the others.

Do you think your water heater needs to be serviced before the winter months hit? The answer is definitely yes. Why? You need to do this because if your water heater goes out, before you have a chance to fix it, it could cause multiple problems. Of course your water heater might just go out anyway during the winter months. If this happens, then you deal with it the best you can. But in order to take the right preventative measures, you should be knowledgeable about the condition of your water heater before going into wintertime. Not doing so is putting yourself in jeopardy of much more extensive cost due to damage.

Tip: Make sure that you're always cleaning your garbage disposal regularly. Doing this will save you from having to repair or replace an expensive piece of equipment in the future.

If you're going to be gone during the winter months for an extended period of time, you cannot leave the temperature in your home under approximately 56 degrees. If you do this, you're asking for a whole world of issues when you return. You could have frozen and busted pipes all over your home, and you could also have problems within your home in other areas as well. You're at least going to have to pay for a little heating while you're gone.

You have to take care of your pipes and plumbing during the winter months. If you don't, you're going to be sorry. A whole bunch of issues can arise, so you need to take the time to take care of your plumbing properly so that you can avoid these problems.

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