As Fall rolls into winter, there are a lot of jobs that homeowners have around their house. From putting fall fertilizer on the lawn, to winter tires on the car, there is a lot to keep track of. One thing that is especially important for homeowners to not look over is winterizing their pipes and plumbing.
The pipes that run through your exterior walls and lead to outside faucets need to be properly winterized. Without proper winterization, you run the risk of your pipes freezing in the cold winter months which will cause them to burst and create a high-pressure leak. These can be expensive to fix and can cause some serious water damage in a short amount of time.
Winter and Fall Plumbing Tips from a Vaughan Plumber
To help make sure this doesn’t happen to you, here are some tips to take care of your pipes and plumbing so they’re ready for the winter.
Drain and Winterize Outside Water Faucets: Your exterior water fixtures are the most susceptable to freezing during the winter months. Make sure that they are completely drained (same goes for the garden hoses) – to do this find the shut off inside and turn it off. You can then open up the outside drain to get all of the water out, then close the faucet again.
Take Care of Your Drains: Make sure that you’re taking proper care of your sink, shower, and toilet drains during the winter months. If they get clogged up underground, it can be very laboursome to get fixed during the winter. The frost in the ground makes it especially hard to dig up the drains, which makes fixing them much more costly.
Prevent Freezing: Burst pipes can flood your home, and cause huge amounts of damage not just in plumbing, but also in water damage to your home. This can even lead to more problems down the road with mold issues. To prevent freezing, make sure that any pipe that would be susceptible to freezing is properly insulated. This will help to keep the water in the pipe from freezing, which is what causes the pipes to burst.
While these steps may seem straight forward, it can be difficult to make sure that everything is properly winterized. If you have any concerns that your house’s plumbing might not be winterized well enough, don’t hesitate to call a local plumbing and drain expert to help you out. We’re always willing to come out and have a look at your plumbing to make sure there’s no risk of your pipes freezing this winter.