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?