With this week’s frigid temperatures, now is more important than ever to prevent bursting pipes. To avoid every home owner’s worst fear, there are a few steps one can take to avoid a plumbing emergency.
Luke Gerhart, president of Weinkauf Plumbing and Heating elaborates, “Making sure you go around the exterior of your home, make sure all of your hoses are disconnected from the house bibs so there’s not a potential for that to freeze and cause damage. In the really cold weather, it’s also good if you shut off the valves inside your home to hose bibs and then drain them of water so they don’t have potential of freezing.”
On the inside of the house, its recommended to leave a faucet dripping if you have trouble spots that are likely to freeze and to leave cabinets open to heat the pipes. For people with vacation homes or cabins not in use, it’s important to make sure they’re winterized to keep pipes insulated in the event of a power outage. If you do happen to have a pipe burst, quick action and calling an emergency plumber immediately is necessary. Gerhart recommends cutting off the water before it can cause a disaster, “Learn where your main water shut off is to your home. So, if something does happen, if you go down and shut the water off to your home, it’s going to prevent damage. So, it something does freeze and crack, knowing where to shut that off within minutes of when that pipe leak is going to save you a lot of damage.”
When in doubt, it’s best to contact a plumbing professional.
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