Preparing Your Plumbing For Winter Weather In San Diego
Colder weather is setting in for everyone living in the CA area, which means now is the time to prepare your home-especially your plumbing-for the freezing temperatures. Not taking these important steps now could lead to serious plumbing problems later this season.
When it’s cold outside, and you turn on a faucet or flush a toilet, water usually appears at once. But when extremely low temperatures arrive and you need to use water indoors (or outdoors if you have an irrigation system), nothing happens because the water inside pipes has frozen solid. The solution? Insulate your pipes with preformed foam sleeves that expand into place after being slid over sections of pipe. They work great but don’t use them on steel or galvanized pipes, which are coated in materials that can be damaged by foam. You can find these insulation sleeves for sale at home improvement stores and plumbing supply shops.
When using any kind of insulation sleeve to protect your water lines, make sure the material covers both hot-and cold-water supply pipe connections leading into your home’s interior plumbing system. That way, you’ll ensure that no matter what the outside temperature is, your household water will remain unfrozen. But make sure you don’t cover the water meter box because if its insulation isn’t intact, it could give a false reading of high usage inside when none exists. And don’t forget to keep garage faucets, outdoor hose bibs, and utility sinks insulated too.
A second way to protect your plumbing against freezing temperatures is with heat tape or heat cable that’s pre-connected to an electrical source, like a 120 volt grounded outlet. This type of insulation can be wrapped around water lines for protection (you don’t need to remove these devices when spring returns). Be sure to read the instructions before using this method because you might have to add more wires if the wrapping fails to protect pipes in very cold weather, and it could cause a short circuit if installed incorrectly.
Keep Temperatures Warm, Even When You’re Gone
When you go on vacation, you probably turn off your water to prevent flooding while you’re away. However, if the weather is very cold when you leave for vacation, make sure that all your faucets are fully open and drip throughout your trip. This will keep them from freezing closed whenever outdoor temperatures reach below 32°F (0°C). It also helps to use an appliance like a dehumidifier or air conditioner to circulate warm indoor air in your home during short trips away. Remember that heat rises; the higher up in the structure and interior space is located, the warmer it will remain because heat rises instead of sinks.
Conclusion
Contact 1st Response Leak Detection at (619) 374-8554 if you need any further information or would like to schedule an appointment. We offer after-hours service, and we’re open seven days a week, including holidays and weekends! Let us help detect and fix your leaks.
