Canadian winters can be brutal: the snow, ice and frigid temperatures are a lot to handle. Even though we do everything we can to stay warm inside, sometimes the pipes to our homes may freeze and burst open, and this can cause a lot of damage to our homes – especially when temperatures warm up, and everything melts. To protect your Hamilton home from damage caused by frozen pipes, it’s important to do everything you can to prevent the pipes from freezing – and here’s what you need to know!
Leave Your Cabinet Doors Open
This can make your home look a little disorganized and messy, but it could end up saving you a lot of money once the warmer comes, so it’s definitely worth trying.
Leaving the cabinet doors open in your kitchen and bathroom allows the warmer air from other places in your home to circulate around the pipes and keep them at a warmer temperature and, therefore, prevent freezing. This can be especially helpful if the pipes in question are on an exterior wall, as they will be exposed to colder temperatures than other pipes in your home.
Use Insulation Around Your Pipes
If you have pipes that are exposed (i.e. not encased in drywall), then wrapping pipe insulation around them will keep them warm.
This option will not look pretty or finished, and that could bother you if the rest of the area is finished, however, if it prevents a frozen pipe from potentially bursting and damaging the rest of your home.
You should insulate the water pipes of your home, even in areas that you don’t spend a lot of time in – like the basement if it’s unfinished. By ensuring areas of your home are insulated you will keep the pipes warm and prevent them from freezing in the winter.
Pipe insulation is inexpensive and can be found at Canadian Tire, Lowes, Home Depot, or Home Hardware and can be installed within an hour on a Saturday afternoon. Applying it to hot water pipes also assists in reducing your energy costs.
Open The Taps a Bit
Once you have opened the cabinets and insulated the pipes, it’s time to move to the faucets in the sinks and tub.
When it’s extremely cold out, letting the faucets drip a little bit can help a lot. You’re probably thinking that this doesn’t make any sense since you’re trying to save money. How does running water help you save money? Well, by keeping the cold water running through the pipes, you will prevent your pipes from freezing.
You don’t have to fully open the taps for a full stream of water, as a trickle can prevent pipes from freezing. Your water bill might be a touch higher for the month, however, the cost will be much less than if you need to repair the pipes and clean up water damage to your Hamilton home.
Winters in Canada can do a lot of damage to our homes, especially during the freezing and thawing process. Taking care of the pipes in our home can go a long way to making sure they don’t burst, and you don’t have to do major repairs come spring.
Contact Wentworth Plumbing Today
Are you experiencing issues with your pipes or other aspects of your plumbing in your Hamilton home? Getting these evaluated and repaired sooner rather than later can save you a lot of money and headache. Contact Wentworth Plumbing today for any plumbing issues you may be having with your home.