Hope Plumbing’s Winter Preparation GuideACALL HOPE PLUMBING FOR YOUR WINTER PLUMBING NEEDS

317-900-4197

INDOOR AND OUTDOOR PLUMBING WINTERIZATION

WHAT TO DO IF YOU GET FROZEN PIPES

INTRODUCTION

PREPARING YOUR OUTDOOR FEATURES

CONCLUSION

THE VALUE OF INSULATION

GETTING HVAC SYSTEMS READY FOR THE COLD SEASON

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Hope Plumbing’s Winter Preparation Guide01

Winter is coming. Depending on where you live, as much as half the year consists of cold weather. These chilly conditions

can wreak havoc on your home’s interior and exterior. The Midwest is only a year removed from the 2013-2014 winter, one of the worst on record. Seven states registered one of their ten coldest winters since 1895. Across the country, almost exactly half of the states registered colder than normal winters. And the scary thought is that the next few months could be even worse. The fall of 2014 has already included a surprising amount of snow, and a November cold snap has led to shockingly frigid conditions.

For homeowners, the constant presence of wintry conditions can lead to heartache. Sometimes, people do not fully appreciate the damage done to their plumbing until they try to use their outdoor faucets for the first time in the spring. On other occasions, the issue reveals itself immediately. When it does, your flooring, walls, and personal property can be damaged or possibly even destroyed by the unexpected flooding. Such a catastrophe causes more than simple aggravation. It leads to extended conversations with insurance companies, unexpected expenses, and a pervasive sense of despair over the preventable nature of the situation.

To ward off potential housing disasters, you as a homeowner need to take steps to winterize your dwelling. A bit of preparation now can save you all of that heartache and money in a few months. While few people, including even the heartiest DIY enthusiasts, enjoy the process of preventing frozen pipe damage, doing so is a critical task to protect the value of your home as well as the contents of your bank account. Best of all, the winterization process is a relatively straightforward one that even a person with modest home repair skills can complete in only a few hours.

Hope Plumbing understands that last year’s winter in combination with the scarily cold start to this year has people worried about the safety of their homes. The best way to provide peace of mind is to demonstrate how easy the steps are in winterizing your plumbing and pipes. What follows is a series of instructions that will empower you when it comes to preparing your home for even the coldest of winters. Let it be your guide in preparing your home’s plumbing and pipes for the winter. After all, a few hours of sweat equity from now, you will be stunned by how much better that you feel about not only your home but also yourself.

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Here is the tricky thing about heat: It will always move to colder areas in wintry weather. Because of this, the heat that you need to stabilize

the temperature of your home will actually work to escape the very places that you are trying to keep warm. Think of insulation as the safe that keeps the precious jewel of heat right where it’s supposed to be.

The pipes in your home are a kind of white noise. Over time, you have tuned them out, and they therefore are hidden in plain sight. You may not even be aware that you have pipes that have been installed outside the home’s original insulation. By taking the time to inspect all of your pipes, you can easily determine whether additional insulation is necessary.

There are two simple approaches that can be taken to improve insulation around exposed pipes. If you have a modest amount of piping to insulate, pipe wrap is the preferred approach. While there are several different compositions for pipe wrap, the most popular are fiberglass and plastic.

The insulation of pipe wrap is extremely easy. As is the case with most things in life, all you need is duct tape. Assuming you do not purchase self-adhesive pipe wrap, the duct tape will be applied to one end. Then, wrap the insulation repeatedly around the other end until it is at least half an inch thick. The most important aspect is to make sure that you have covered every portion of the pipe. Also note that if you are using fiberglass, you must cover it in plastic to prevent later dripping.

Think of tubular sleeves as a cast for your pipe. If you can use tubular sleeves, the good news is that they are easier to install. Sleeves are generally six feet long, and they should be cut to fit the exact length of the pipe. If six feet is not enough, you can combine multiple sleeves. You will need duct tape to cover the gaps. The moral of the story is to always keep duct tape nearby. It’s just common sense for any self-respecting DIYer.

THE VALUE OF INSULATION

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The winterization process for your plumbing is nowhere near as difficult as you may believe. A lot of simple steps can be performed

that will protect your property during inclement weather. Since your plumbing is the source of a lot of potential issues, annual maintenance should be performed to keep your home safe from disaster. Here are a few easy steps to take.

Search for leaks. Even a tiny one can be disastrous once the weather grows cold. Carefully examine all of your pipes for leaks when you perform the insulation check above. An insulated pipe with no leaks should be safe during even the worst weather.

Next, take the time to determine the location of your water main shut-off valve. If your pipes do burst, quickly turning off the valve is the difference between a modest amount of damage and a devastating amount of property lost. It’s never fun to think about minimizing damage, but a quick reaction in a crisis can save a fortune. Also note that if several people live in your home, each of them should know the location of the water main.

Another ridiculously easy step that few people consider is to shut your garage doors and close your crawlspace areas. Arctic winds can enter the crawl space and freeze the pipes.

Shutting the garage doors protects your water heater, assuming it is located in the garage.

One of the most important steps literally takes less than five minutes. Simply disconnect your garden hoses from the attached faucets. This step allows the water in the spigot to drain. If you leave the hose attached, the water remains in the pipe, which can lead to serious issues.

Once the weather grows cold, the trapped water in the pipe will freeze and expand. If this does not lead to the immediate bursting of pipes, you may not even realize that you have a problem until you turn on your hose for the first time in the spring. By that point, the damage will be done.

After you have disconnected the appropriate hoses, consider installing an insulated faucet jacket. By doing this, you protect the faucets in the exterior of your home as well as the pipes leading into your house.

Finally, keep an eye on your water pressure. If it diminishes, that is often the tell-tale first sign of restricted water flow. If you have that sort of issue, your pipes could be frozen. Proceed with caution while investigating any potential problem spots in the pipes.

INDOOR AND OUTDOOR PLUMBING WINTERIZATION

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The favorite place of many homeowners is their backyard. This is the canvas where individual creativity is expressed. Whether you have a fountain, a pool, a

hot tub, or automatic sprinkler in your backyard, care must be taken to protect your pride and joy.

Winterizing your sprinkler system is not hard. There are, however, several tasks that must be completed. None of them is difficult or time-consuming. Simply employ the following checklist, and you will be finished in no time.

R Assuming that you have an underground irrigation system in place, the first step is to drain your sprinkler system of all water. The reason is the same as above. Any lingering water in the pipes can be dangerous. That liquid can expand and freeze, eventually causing the pipes to burst and sprinkler heads to explode. Draining them is a simple safeguard against such a catastrophe.

R Is your sprinkler system operating on a timer? If so, a lot of the previous work that you have done above can be negated if you forget to deactivate your timer. When you perform the faucet tasks above, take an extra moment to turn off your timer, and you should be fine during the winter season.

R If you are a heartier DIYer, a more aggressive solution is to blow out the remaining water in your irrigation system. Rent a compressor at a

home improvement store. Shut off the water supply temporarily. Use the compressed air to blow out any remaining fluid in the system. Once you have removed all water, apply insulation along the exterior piping to protect it from extreme winter temperatures.

R For hot tub maintenance, the steps are obvious. Release the connecting plugs. Then, open the drains and perform an eyeball test to make sure that no water is left in the drains. Forgetting to do this can lead to frozen pipes, which can ruin your entire spa system.

R Pool owners should start with the basic step of draining the water. Afterward, drain the equipment as well. All heaters, filters, pumps, and chlorinators should be dry to avoid any concerns about freezing. Since eliminating all water can be problematic, consider using a shop vacuum or air compressor to blow out these liquids in the same manner as above. After you have finished drying your pool or hot tub, insulate all appropriate piping and backflow systems to protect against harsh conditions.

Realistically, most of the outdoor winterization steps listed in this section can be summarized as “water is bad and must be destroyed before freezing weather arrives.”

PREPARING YOUR OUTDOOR FEATURES

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Winterizing your air conditioner is a crucial step. You may mistakenly believe that turning the unit off is enough.

If that is all you do, there is a chance that only hot air will blow out of your system when you try to use it for the first time in the spring. All you need to do to avoid this fate is drain your air conditioner pipes and shut off your water valves.

Switching from air conditioning to heating for the first time each season is the equivalent of starting a car for the first time in months. Your system has been idle for an extended period. It needs to be prepared for initial usage.

The first thing to do is replace all of your filters, including in the air conditioner, the humidifier (if applicable), and the furnace. Next, inspect the functionality of your thermostat. This should be done prior to the start of winter. If there are any problems, you can get your unit serviced before you need your heat running all the time. Homesense Heating and Air is an excellent local option for reliable HVAC repair. Once you have your HVAC working properly, you will be cozy and warm during the coldest time of the year.

GETTING HVAC SYSTEMS READY FOR THE COLD SEASON

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All of the measures above are preventative in nature. Let’s be honest, though. Sometimes, all of the proper maintenance

possible cannot stave off misfortune. If you are unlucky enough to have frozen pipes, try not to fret. There are still several things that you can do to overcome this obstacle.

You probably know to leave your faucet running a little during extremely cold weather. The reason for this is rarely explained, however. Moving water cannot freeze. Simply by allowing a slow drip of water, you create enough of a flow to prevent stagnant water from pooling enough to freeze then burst.

If the water in your pipe is no longer moving, the primary goal becomes thawing your frozen pipes. The initial step is detection. Follow your pipes to the most likely locations for freezing to occur. Such places include exterior walls and the origin point for water entry in your home. Once you have determined its location, turn on the faucet attached to the frozen pipe. If you forget to do this crucial action, the steam created in heating the pipe is likely to burst the pipe.

After you have found the troublesome pipe and turned on the attached faucet, the next step is clear. You have to unthaw the pipe. That means applying heat to it. While your first instinct may be something extreme

like a blowtorch or other open flame, please understand how dangerous that is.

The best solutions are generally ones already in your house. An electric hair dryer or space heater could do the trick. Be sure that there are no flammable materials nearby, though. Also, plug the electronic device into a GFCI protected outlet for safety purposes. Another option is an electric heating pad that you place directly on the frozen pipe. Plug it into a GFCI outlet and then wrap it around the problematic pipe.

If none of these items is currently available, simply soak towels in hot water then apply them to the appropriate pipe. Since your water flow is blocked, however, using a faucet to generate hot water is the least preferred method.

Continue applying heat until you have full water pressure once more. Let the water continue to run to guarantee that the pipe is fully cleared. Once you are satisfied that it is restored, there is one final step to take. Use all the other faucets in your home. This is a test to determine whether or not additional pipes are frozen. The sad reality is that if one pipe freezes, others potentially have as well. Once you have tested all of them, you will feel the tremendous satisfaction of having fixed your frozen pipe!

WHAT TO DO IF YOU GET FROZEN PIPES

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This winter preparation guide is intended to give you the confidence to protect your home from catastrophe. Anyone who has ever

suffered through a flooded room understands how much time and aggravation is involved with the process. The best-case scenario is that an insurance claim is needed. The worst-case scenario is that the damaged property is not covered, costing a person a great deal of money in replacing lost and damaged items.

Frozen pipes create an unconscionable amount of damage. Winterizing your home to prevent such an event is nowhere near as daunting a challenge as you may have believed prior to reading this guide. All that is required is a focused approach. Start with the inspection phase, which includes a determination of areas lacking insulation. Then, whip out the duct tape and start insulating your pipes. Next, protect your interior and exterior by searching for leaks and educating yourself and your family on the location of your water shut-off valve.

After that, winterize your faucets and irrigation system plus any other exterior items that need to be weather-proofed. Finally, prepare your HVAC for the seasonal change by safeguarding your air conditioning and preparing your heater. And even if disaster does strike, there are many steps that can be taken to prevent a frozen pipe from doing further damage by spreading.

While the steps above initially seem overwhelming, the truth is that many of them can be accomplished in a matter of minutes. Do not feel an obligation to do everything at once. Instead, spend a few minutes each day crossing a couple of these items off your to-do list. In a short period of time, you will have finished winterizing your home. In the process, you will bask in the glow of self-achievement, knowing that you have taken care of your home and your family. Contact Hope Plumbing today, and we’ll get you started on winterizing your home.

CONCLUSION

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CALL HOPE PLUMBING FORYOUR WINTER PLUMBING NEEDS

317-900-4197317-641-HOPE (4673)