WASHINGTON (ABC7) – As temperatures get colder in December, winterizing your home and protecting the pipes from freezing inside your residence is a top priority.
In 2018, 7 On Your Side went behind a home to look at the home's walls and inside its pipes to see what happens when they start to freeze.
ALSO READ: 7 ON YOUR SIDE teams up with a master plumber to show you how to winterize your home
Master plumber and owner of All Plumbing Kabir Shafik helped 7 On Your Side with this experiment which involved filling pipes identical to ones found in homes with water. After a night in freezing temperatures, a look inside shows the water in the pipe turned to ice.
Even if you turn off the water source inside your home that feeds the water outside, there may still be water trapped throughout the pipe. The water was frozen and all of it can pour in behind walls or in your basement for hours before you know it's happened causing thousands of dollars in damage.
A look inside a frozen pipe demonstrates what happens if the water is not drained and the temperatures dip below freezing, that water turns to ice.
ALSO READ: 7 ON YOUR SIDE takes you inside your home's pipes to see what happens when they freeze'
Below are helpful tips to winterize your home and protect your pipes from freezing.
How to Prepare Your Pipes for Winter:
- Winterizing plumbing pipes is a way to prepare your home for freezing temperatures and avoid malfunctioning or bursts pipes.
- The process prepares your plumbing system for winter's chill and can save you a huge hassle and lots of cash by avoiding piping repairs or replacement. Use this Mr. Rooter Plumbing checklist to winterize your plumbing.
Insulate Pipes
- Pipes in unheated areas like a crawl space, garage, or attic are susceptible to freezing temperatures.
- Use a heat cable along the pipes and cover with pipe insulation. The insulation by itself isn't designed to withstand long-term cold temperatures and can actually prevent warm air from reaching the pipes when not partnered with heat cable.
Shut off outdoor faucets
- Open your outdoor faucets to allow excess water to run out, then turn off the faucet at the shutoff valve. If you don't first allow the bleeder cap to drain, the pipe can still freeze and crack.
- Open cabinet doors.
- During a stretch of particularly cold weather, you can open your kitchen or bathroom under-sink cabinets to allow warm air to circulate near the pipes.
- Behind closed doors, pipes are vulnerable because the warm air in your home can't reach them.
Check furnace or HVAC unit
- If your HVAC unit or furnace goes out during the dead of winter, your pipes will suffer through the freezing temperatures until a repair can be made.
- Ensure your heating system is working properly before winter arrives.