Winter is a huge problem for home and property owners- specifically if you've moved and your home is setting empty. Why? PLUMBING!
If your home gets too cold, the water in your pipes can freeze overnight and after that burst in the day when it warms back up. This leaves the capacity for comprehensive flooding and water damage to your house. The pipes you require to be most concerned about are those that have the most exposure to the cold-- outside pipe faucets, swimming pool supply lines, underground sprinkler systems, and pipes in unheated basements, crawl spaces, attics and garages. Pipes that run against outside walls are likewise at threat.
What to do ...
When it's cold outside, you need to periodically inspect all the faucets in your house. If it doesn't work or water is just a trickle you might have frozen water in your pipelines. Attempt to locate the frozen location by looking in the location more than likely to freeze- i.e. the coldest. Use a heat lamp, area heater, hair dryer or electrical heat pad to start to thaw out the pipelines. Remember to keep the faucet open as you work. That's since running water will help melt the ice faster. Apply heat up until complete water pressure is restored, then consider going to your community hardware shop to buy insulation for the areas of the pipe that froze (to assist avoid it from taking place once again).
DO NOT use any sort of blow torch or open flame to warm the pipes. I can not worry this enough, so let me state it again. DO NOT utilize an open flame. First of all, an open flame is a fire hazard and if you are operating in a restricted location there is a hazard of carbon monoxide poisoning. Every year there is a story in the news of some person burning down their house or suffocating themselves to death while working on frozen pipes.
The 2nd reason not to utilize an open flame is if it gets too hot you can melt your pipelines (specifically PVC plastic pipelines). Third, excessive heat too rapidly produces the capacity for an explosion. That's due to the fact that water expands as it fumes. A blow torch or other gadget will cause the water to boil, and boiling water trapped in the middle of a frozen pipe has no location to expand- so it takes off.
The last piece of advice is always the best ... If you fail to unthaw the pipe, call a certified plumbing before the pipe breaks.
How to keep it from happening ...
- Your house ought to have inside valves on your outdoor water supply lines. Close them, then open the outdoors faucet and let the water drain. Leave the outdoors faucet open all winter season.
- Drain and store outside garden tubes.
- If you have not already done so, drain pipes the water from your swimming pool and sprinkler system system. As mentioned above, insulate plumbing that's most susceptible to freezing. You can find materials at your local hardware store, House Depot, or Lowes.
- Throughout serious winter, let the faucets drip. Although it's no warranty, even a drip of water can assist avoid pipelines from freezing and an open faucet provides the water someplace to run once it starts to warm up.
- Keep the house temperature level set to no lower than 55 degrees Fahrenheit. I know it's appealing to turn the thermostat down when you leave town for a few weeks or if you have an unsold home that is setting empty, but the greater heat bill is rapidly balanced out by the expense of fixing a pipeline and cleaning up water damage.
- Finally, if you experience flooding or water damage from a broken pipe, make certain to see the house for mold or mildew. Black mold can be a severe after impact to a flooded house that's far even worse to handle than the actual water damage.