Freezing pipes can be a real problem during the winter months in Georgia. Since water expands when it freezes into ice, having water freeze inside your pipes can often cause them to burst, leading to flooding and a costly bill to repair the damaged area. The good news, though, is that there are several simple measures that you can take to prevent your pipes from freezing and bursting. In this article, we’ll take a look at 6 Tips To Prevent Frozen Pipes in order to help you keep your Georgia home protected all winter long.
Tip #1: Leave Your Faucet Running
The simple answer for why pipes burst in the winter is that water expands when it freezes. The more detailed answer, though, is that a blockage of frozen water puts pressure on the water ahead of the blockage, often causing the pipe to burst. One easy way to relieve some of this pressure is to leave your faucets running a little during the winter. That doesn’t mean that you should turn your facets on all the way, though – simply allowing a little water to drip from your faucets will be enough to eliminate some of the pressure within your pipes without significantly increasing your water bill.
Tip #2: Leave Your Heat On
It’s a common issue for people to return to their homes and find a burst pipe after an extended period of time away. The reason why it’s so common for pipes to burst while the home’s residents are away is that many people make the mistake of turning their heat all the way off while they are away from home. While this may seem like a great way to lower your energy bill, turning your heat off for an extended period of time makes it much more likely that the water inside your pipes will freeze while you are gone. It is recommended that you don’t allow the temperature inside your home to get below 50 degrees Fahrenheit if you want to avoid freezing pipes, so setting your heat to turn on when the temperature drops below this mark is a good idea any time you are away from home, especially for an extended time.
Tip #3: Add Additional Insulation
If you have experienced problems with burst pipes in the past, adding additional insulation to your pipes is an option that may be worth considering. Pipes can be insulated from the outside elements via sleeves that are made of foam, rubber, or fiberglass. While the insulation itself is relatively affordable and easy to apply, accessing your pipes in order to apply the additional insulation can sometimes turn into a costly and time-consuming project if you are required to open your walls, floor, or ceiling in order to get to the pipes. For this reason, we recommend focusing on insulating the pipes in areas of your home that are not already thoroughly insulated such as the pipes in your home’s basement or attic.
Tip #4: Apply Heating Tape
In addition to adding extra insulation to your pipes, applying heating tape is another method for protecting areas of pipe that might be significantly prone to freezing. Heating tape is an innovative product that is powered by electricity and is designed to apply heat to pipes in order to prevent them from freezing. There are two main types of heating tape on the market today: one type is designed to turn on automatically when it detects that the pipe is becoming too cold and the other type must be turned on and off manually. As with insulation, though, applying heating tape means that you will need to directly access the pipes where the tape is to be applied. This means that heating tape is probably best reserved for the pipes that are easy to access and/or the pipes that are especially prone to freezing.
Tip #5: Open Your Cabinets and Interior Doors
Keeping all of the interior doors open in your home is a simple way to ensure that heat is able to flow evenly throughout the building. Since pipes are often located behind cabinets, keeping your cabinet doors open is another great way to prevent pipes from freezing. By opening up your home as much as possible, you can allow heat to flow to all areas of your home and ensure that no one area where pipes are located becomes too cold.
Tip #6: Make Sure Your Home is Properly Sealed
If there are any cracks, gaps, or holes in your walls or floor that are allowing cold outside air to circulate around your pipes, it is important to ensure that they are closed using a sealant such as caulk or spray foam insulation. Cold outside air that leaks into your home can turn already cold areas such as inside your cabinets even colder, substantially increasing your risk of frozen pipes. Thankfully, the gaps and holes that allow air inside are usually quite easy to seal as long as you are able to find them. Whenever possible, be sure to seal off both the interior and exterior sides of the gap or hole for maximum protection.
Keep Your Pipes Protected All Winter Long
Pipes that burst due to freezing is an issue that no homeowner wants to deal with. It’s also an issue that can affect homes in any climate where there is the potential for the outside temperature to drop below freezing. By following the 6 Tips To Prevent Frozen Pipes outlined above, though, you can ensure that your pipes are kept as warm as possible during the cold winter months and dramatically reduce the chances that they freeze and burst.