winter plumbing tips

With winter upon us in Columbus it’s important to learn a bit about frozen pipes and just what they can do to your home. A frozen pipe is a pipe that can burst at any minute, leaving your home susceptible to a serious amount of moisture.

With burst pipes, it’s not rare for flooring, furniture, and fixtures to need to be replaced after the flooding of water that occurs, so it’s always best to avoid the freezing of your pipes whenever possible.

There are several things that homeowners can do to avoid frozen pipes.

Avoiding Frozen Pipes

1. Turn off your main water valve

If for any reason your home is without heat, the first thing you should make sure to do is shut off the main water valve whenever possible in order to avoid having your pipes freeze. By turning off your main water valve you are not allowing water into your home or your pipes, helping them to avoid freezing.

2. Search for problem areas

Even in homes where heat is running smoothly, cracks, windows, or drafts can come in to areas where the pipes run and cause a freezing situation. In older homes especially, all pipe areas should be checked to ensure the areas can be kept warm, particularly when the winter winds begin to blow.

3. Let the water trickle from your sink and tub faucets

If your pipes rest outside of the walls, and turning off the main water valve isn’t a possibility, it’s important to allow a trickle of both hot and cold water to run into the sink or tub. This trickle will encourage a flow or water movement, which will cause your pipes to be less likely to freeze.

If you do experience a frozen pipe this winter, it’s important to shut off the main water valve as quickly as possible in order to help your pipes to avoid bursting. If it’s too late, or this cannot be done, our professionals at Plumbing Emergency Columbus are here to help at any time of the day or night.