It is important to prepare your home to handle the harshest weather, even before the cool autumn air swings you around (the way you’ve dreamed) and Old Man Winter sighs in wait. No man or beast enjoys a frozen plumbing pipe.
To avoid plumbing emergencies of mythic proportions (typhoons, deluges, etc.), here are some things you can do to defend your home:
Disconnect your outdoor hoses
When you leave hoses connected to your home, you increase your chance of inadvertently damaging your plumbing pipes. When outside temperatures drop to a chill, the water remaining in those pipes can get cold enough to freeze. As we all know from science class, frozen water expands in its container, then bursts with the force of dynamite. When your pipes burst, your floors and ceilings get drenched. In that moment, it would be heroic to call a Philadelphia plumbing service.
Turn off any outside faucets
As you’re walking outdoors, make sure your outdoor faucets aren’t dripping or leaking either. Again, water frozen is like kryptonite to plumbing (but not Hutchinson plumbers). It can freeze inside the pipes feeding your faucets, or sprout up a river of ice on the coldest mornings. In the midst of the scouting, you may even want to reinforce your faucets with some insulators.
Insulate your pipes
By insulating your water pipes, you’ll prevent heat loss inside your home (and keep the hot water toasty). You should focus on pipes with the most exposure to the outside, and least amount of heat. Any frozen pipe that you ignore will not only burst, but increase pressure throughout your whole plumbing system (Mother Spring forbid). An inexpensive foam roll of insulation should be sufficient to wrap up the lot. Those exposed to the fiercest winters opt instead for heat tape.
Clean your downspouts and gutters
Remove all leaves and debris to ensure easy drainage. If water becomes trapped between, it can freeze and then be vicious.
What you can do to safeguard your home’s plumbing, heating and air, be it in South Jersey or elsewhere, is to call Hutchinson. After you call, we’ll visit and ensure that everything is working properly. By allying with us, you can immune yourself against disasters like frozen water and bursting pipes.