What You Need to Do in The Fall to Make Sure a Plumbing System is Ready for the Winter

As New Jersey’s #1 Plumbing Company, with services in New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Delaware since 1948, Hutchinson has trained and experienced plumbers ready to fix all of your plumbing issues and drain cleaning demands. However, if you want to make it through winter 2016 without needing one of our plumbers, here are a few helpful hints:

• Prepare for the worst – if the worst should happen with a major plumbing leak then you should turn off the emergency valve at the main water shut off. Problem is; where is the main water shut off? Before the winter, make sure to know where the water shut off is and ensure you will be able to get to it when the worst should happen.
• Prepare the outside – once all of the yard work is done for the season, make sure to shut off and drain the outdoor faucets. Also, disconnect and drain any hoses. While this task seems easy enough, it often ends up an afterthought for many people. If you don’t unhook and drain all of the water from your hoses, you will not only find yourself with a useless hose once it warms up again, but it can cause your pipes to freeze, expand, and burst!
• Prepare your pipes – to protect the pipes inside your home, consider insulating the water pipes throughout your home. Beyond protecting the pipes, the insulation can also mean that the water in your pipes will behotter. Therefore, not only are you keeping your pipes “warm,” but your water heater will not have to work extra hard to guarantee that you can take that hot shower or bath.
• Prepare your water heater – water heater maintenance for standard tanks is a simple task with instructions typically printed on the front of the water heater tank. Use this time of the year to “schedule” your own water heater maintenance. Also, if you notice that you are running out of hot water quicker in the winter, and getting less time in the shower, consider low-flow showerheads to extent the length of your showers.
• Prepare for the south/the shore– if you’re leaving your shore house for the last time, or heading south for the winter months, consider “winterizing” your home for the season. If you’re not going to be using the home for an extended period, winterizing a home drains all of the water out of the pipes. Also, add anti-freeze to the plumbing trap as this removes any chance of pipes freezing.

“Do-It-Yourselfers” can take full advantage of the above tips to avoid costly plumbing repairs this winter, or, homeowners in New Jersey, Philadelphia and Delaware can “Trust Hutch” for all of their plumbing issues and drain cleaning needs.