5 Ways to Help Prevent Pipe Bursts in New Jersey
One of the most destructive things that can happen inside of your home are burst pipes. Water ruins your drywall, warps wooden floors, destroys carpet, and makes mold grow. Replacing everything destroyed by water can be expensive. Team Electric Plumbing & Air wants to help you protect your home. With cold temperatures coming to New Jersey, there are five easy things you can do to keep your pipes from freezing.
Detach: One of the main reasons that pipes burst during the winter is your garden hose. If you leave it hooked up during the winter, the water in the hose freezes, and that icy hose then freezes the water in your pipes. When the water expands, your pipes burst. In order to prevent this, detach your hose from the spigot. It’s an easy thing to forget, but the price of forgetting is high. Make certain your garden hose spends the winter away from your spigot.
Keep the temperature up: If you are going out of town, never turn your thermostat down lower than 55 degrees. Water freezes at 32 degrees. If you keep the interior temperature of your home above 55 degrees, it should keep your home warm enough to protect your pipes. This is only true if your home has adequate insulation. If you know that your home is lacking insulation, you might need to keep the thermostat higher.
Insulate: This step is not as easy, but a little bit of insulation goes a long way. If you have a crawl space, you might want to make certain that the pipes under your home are insulated. You can buy pipe insulation that will keep the heat around your pipes. If the insulation doesn’t work, you can buy heat tape and install it along your pipes.
Keep it open: New Jersey can have some pretty bad winters. When the temperature gets really cold outside, you might want to leave the cupboard doors open on your kitchen and bathroom sinks. This allows the warm air indie of your home to circulate under the sinks where your pipes are located. It sounds simple, but this this step can save your kitchen and bathroom pipes from freezing.
Let it weep: When temperatures dip below zero, you will want to have all of the above steps completed. The last step is to turn your sinks weep. Weeping means you turn one sink on just enough to allow water to drip out. Remember to turn both your hot and cold water on. Moving water doesn’t freeze as easily as still water. A steady drip can protect your pipes.
Team Electric Plumbing & Air
If your pipes do freeze, give us a call. Our technicians are fast and efficient. We will be able to fix the problem and protect your pipes from future cold fronts. When you want the best plumber in New Jersey, make certain to give us a call.
