Winter Plumbing Tips
Unfortunately, the freezing weather is almost upon us. Which isn’t good news for our home plumbing and pipework, it’s time to learn some plumbing tips to save your pipes from being damaged and needing costly repairs.
What Are The Best Plumbing Tips?
Plumbing tips are vital to know; this won’t help you fix your plumbing system if it becomes damaged – but will help you take the correct steps beforehand to prevent damage. The cold weather is now almost upon us, with freezing temperatures on the horizon it’s essential that you take the correct precautions to protect your waterworks and property from water damage or freezing damage throughout cold weather.
You may not pay regular attention to your pipework, but be sure to remember that your home has a lot of external pipework as well as the pipes inside your home. These pipes are exposed to a lot more bad conditions due to coldness, wetness and freezing. We recommend you take the most care of these external pipes before the weather hits. So if you want to ensure your plumbing system stays in perfect condition this year, then keep reading. We have composed a list of plumbing tips to help keep your property in tip-top shape this year.
Disconnect Any Hoses
You mainly use your hoses during the summer months for recreational reasons, plant watering and plenty of other things. Then you leave them strewn on the floor still attached to the wall. This is a big plumbing mistake! Although the water supplies to the hose it stopped, water will still trickle through or could be present in the hose.
During cold weather, once the temperature becomes low enough, it will freeze the water in the hose pipe. In worst case scenario this ice will build up pressure in your hose over time and eventually could end up backing up into your property. If this happens, this can cause water damage to your home or cause a pipe to burst, which can affect the rest of your property’s pipework. To avoid this ensure that you always disconnect your hose from the water fixture, and if you are going to store it outside then be sure to drain it of any excess water.
Shut Off All Outdoor Taps
Similar to the issue of hoses, even once you disconnect the hose, this issue can still happen int he taps in your garden. Mirroring the hose situation, the water isn’t coming out of your external tap, but is still sat in the entrance of the tap in case it is turned on.
As the water sits in the tap through the freezing weather, it becomes likely for the water to freeze up inside the tap. Once this happens, it can back up into your home and cause a cracked or burst pipe. If left this makes your property vulnerable to water damage and leaks. You can avoid this issue by draining the tap pipes and shutting them off.
Insulate Your Pipes
Insulating your pipes is an essential part of keeping them warm and working during the cold months. Even the pipework in your loft is susceptible to being frozen in extreme weather, so ensure you have insulated pipes both inside your home and out.
There are many different types of pipe insulation that vary depending on the use, which type of pipe is being insulated, and the severity of the weather in which they are found. Ensure that when fitting your pipes with insulation, that it is the correct size and has a snug fits. Any gaps in the insulation or loose fittings will not insulate the pipe properly, and you could still end up with pipe damage issues. If a pipe in your loft was to burst, this would cause extreme issues for your property. Water damage starting in the roof often goes unnoticed and can cause rotting or mould to grow in the cavity insulation. Be sure to keep a close eye out and to regularly check the pipework.
Regularly Run Your Taps
Running your home taps is often something homeowners don’t want to do as it seems like a waste and will cost them on their water bills. However, the cost of running your water for 2 minutes is considerably less than the cost of paying for plumbing repairs.
Over time, especially more so in the winter, your taps will build up with pressure in the pipework. You can reduce this just by running your taps, both hot or cold. Although it will slightly add onto your water bills, the cost of repairs for your entire kitchens plumbing work is significantly more than the cost added on to your energy bills.
Open Your Kitchen Cabinets
Despite the amount of heat that is in your home, your kitchen cupboards and restricted access parts of the kitchen will not receive this heat. Just by opening your kitchen cupboards and allowing some warmth into underneath your kitchen sink can warm the pipework up.
This works exceptionally well as it’s not high heat suddenly on the pipework, its a subtle, persistent heat that can help keep your pipework at a steady temperature.
Get A Smart Meter
Within the winter months, you will be using your heating considerably more, and your boiler will be hard at work. It’s vital that you keep track of your spending to not go overboard on the price of your energy bills. Smart Meters can help you track the cost of your boiler and how much your heating has cost you for the day.
A lot of our clients gave us the feedback that they spotted they needed boiler repairs just from the prices on their smart meter showing up a lot more expensive than they usually are.
Start Preparing Your Plumbing For Winter
Using these top tips, you can organise your plumbing works and prepare them for the freezing weather during the winter months. We hope that this article was helpful, if it was then why not share on social media?
What Is Plumbing Emergency?
In most homes the plumbing system is built with these three things, namely the water supply system, the central drainage system and the fixtures and the appliances.
Your main supply line in home makes the water available to all the taps in a home which is done either through the municipal corporation or some private suppliers. The municipal corporation sets up a meter to measure the amount of water used in the home, business, industrial and accordingly then they charge the bill.
24 Hour Emergency Plumber & HVAC. Is Your Plumbing Problem an Emergency? That’s a Great Question….
A question we get a lot from our customers is, “When should I call for an emergency plumber?” Generally, a plumbing issue qualifies as an emergency if it threatens the health and safety of your family or the integrity of your home. Such severe problems must be dealt with right away.
Our licensed plumbers serving Across Canada have extensive experience handling all kinds of plumbing and HVAC emergencies, including:
Water heater leaks
Leaking pipes
Blocked drains
No hot water
No water
Burst pipes
Frozen pipes
Sewer line backups
Overflowing toilets
Contact us today for all your plumbing and heating needs.
4 Most Common Types of Water Heaters
Is there a requirement of a water heater in every home? Yes, of course. Why? Since the temperature in Canada is extremely cold, most of the time, the use of water heaters is quite necessary. Due to this reason, people commonly prefer to take a bath using water heaters to feel relaxed and feel better after a hectic day.
If you are planning to buy a new water heater, the following are the most common types of water heaters
1. Storage Tank Water Heaters
They are conventional heaters that consist of a tank, which stores the water to be heated. Therefore, it is also called as the ‘hot water storage tank.’ They are generally provided with insulation to increase the rate of the heating process, decrease energy consumption, and also, maintain the much-needed temperature of the water inside the tank. It can be easily installed at your home by emergency plumbers.
2. Tankless Water Heaters
Tankless water heaters provide water heating without the need for storing the water into the tank. On average, a tankless water heater uses 30% less energy, compared to a storage-tank water heater. A tankless water heater makes use of either an electric element or a gas burner for the water heating process. In case if there is any technical fault related to these water tankers, you can get it checked from emergency plumbers.
3. Heat Pump Water Heaters
In the case of heat pump water heaters, the heat is absorbed from either air or from the ground to heat water. Hence, a heat pump water tanker is 2 to 3 times more energy-efficient than an ordinary water tanker. Heat pump water heater consumes 63% less energy than a typical water heater. Therefore, it is one of the most commonly used water heaters around the city.
4. Solar Powered Water Heaters
As the name suggests, solar power water heaters make use of solar power for its operation. Typically, a solar heater converts the sunlight into heat power for the purpose of heating water by making use of a solar thermal collector. It is thus generally placed on the terrace or at any place where the sunlight is readily available. It is one of the most advanced types of water heaters and can help you save a large amount of electricity on a yearly basis.
From the information given above, you can simply figure out that there are various types of water heaters available in the market and you select any of these heaters as per your convenience. In case of the installation of a water heater, you can directly approach any emergency plumbers in your city or simply get in touch with us.
Why Are Your Plumbing Pipes Changing Colours
You have lived in your house for a few years and now you notice changes erupting in the plumbing system. The faucets are leaking, the taps are dripping, the drainage system is almost falling apart but most importantly, you notice the plumbing pipes change their colours. These pipes at your home could be made of copper, iron or PVC. But what causes the plumbing pipes to change their colours?
Copper Pipes
Copper pipes have high heat tolerance and are proven to be durable for a long time. Copper is a metal that can conduct hot or cold water through it. The issue it can bring to a household is oxidization due to reaction with the oxygen and air as well as other acidic components of smog, smoke and rain. The World Health Organization states 2.0 milligrams of copper per litre as the maximum level permitted to be found in water. But note that even copper levels in water that is over 1.0 milligrams can cause health issues. Here are the colours you would notice when your copper pipes change from its original colour.
Blue or Bluish-green
When the copper pipe is exposed to changes in the environment, a green layer is created over the pipes. You may also notice blue or greenish-blue water pour from the taps. This is because the pipe corrodes and the copper dissolves into the water. Look for any pinhole leaks, cracks or pipe bursts that may have appeared because of a pipe wall becoming thinner. If the damage does not appear too severe, you plug them by using different methods like a solder, a repair clamp or a chemical sealant. Alternatively, call a plumber over to check the pipes and to replace any damaged portion. The plumber can check the pipes in the house and replace any pipes that are in its last days of use.
Black
The other colour your copper pipes could turn into is black. This can be noticed when the presence of sulphur levels in the water is high. The plumbing pipes could even turn black because of other chemicals in the air like sewer gas because the home’s sewer line failing. There can even be instances when the copper pipe comes in contact with other non-compactible metals, one of them being galvanized steel. The pipes also turn black if cheap copper versions were used during installation by the builder. Cheap copper contains high amounts of impurities.
Iron Pipes
Iron pipes react with the moisture and oxygen in the air in a process called oxidation. It causes the formation of rust over the iron. You will also notice interiors of the pipes carrying hot water rust faster than the ones carrying cold water. This occurs because of the increased level of minerals and chemicals in hot water that oxidize the iron pipes. Iron release from corroded pipes can lead to health-damaging issues to arise.
Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)
The PVC pipes are susceptible to an increasing growth of mould in the house. It causes the creation of a bluish-green film over the pipe which can be removed with tactful home remedies.
In a worst-case scenario, if you come across complete pipe failure, you would need to book an appointment to perform an emergency plumbing maintenance service. 24 Hour Plumbing Heating engages trained technicians for plumbing and heating services for home maintenance, repairs and replacement needs. Need support? Book an appointment.