Taking Precautions for Heat Pipe Before Winter Comes

Generally, every winter season, homeowners are at risk of the damage and expense caused by frozen Heat Pipe . Throughout the winter months, your home surely will experience these pipe-bursting temperatures.  In fact, a one-eighth inch crack in a pipe can spray out more than 250 gallons of water a day, quickly destroying anything nearby, including your walls, floors, furniture, and appliances. However, just a few precautions can greatly reduce your risk.

In winter, you’d better disconnect and drain all outdoor hoses. You should disconnect garden hoses and, if practical, use an indoor valve to shut off and drain water from pipes leading to outside faucets. This reduces the chances that the outside faucets and pipes leading to them will freeze.

Also, you should insulate pipes or faucets in unheated areas. In practice, the crawl space and attic are best places to insulate pipes. Besides, the more insulation you use, the better protected your pipes will be. An insulating pipe sleeve, heat tape or thermostatically controlled heat cables are typically sufficient to protect your pipes from breaking.

You see, winter winds whistling through overlooked openings can quickly freeze exposed pipes. So it better for you to use caulk or insulation to keep the cold out and the heat in. After all, in severe wind chill, even a tiny opening can let in enough cold air to cause a pipe to freeze.

Besides, you should always keep in mind where is the master shutoff. In case of a leak, everyone in the family needs to know where it is and what it does. It’s usually where the water line comes into your house from the street.

What is more, it is necessary to keep your indoor plumbing warm in cold weather. Open your kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors to allow heat to get to pipes under sinks and vanities near exterior walls, and keep a small trickle of water running from faucets.

Apart from the above measures, you should also shut off water using the master shutoff before vacating your home for winter. And then, open and thoroughly drain all household and outdoor water lines. Any trapped water can freeze causing pipes to expand and break. Furthermore, once all the lines have been drained, it is important to close all household and irrigation lines again before leaving your home.

In conclusion, taking the precautions mentioned above before the cold weather hits could save you a lot of trouble and expense from frozen or broken pipes.