Frozen pipes in the winter are a potential issue in nearly all parts of the northern US, but folks in Sioux Falls, SD, and the surrounding areas have to plan for some of the worst freezes in the country. The consequences of a frozen pipe are severe, with the worst scenarios leading to water flooding your home. Fortunately, preventative measures are far cheaper than dealing with the consequences. Everyone in the area should consider the following five ways to prevent frozen pipes.
1. Locate Your Pipes
You can’t protect a pipe if you don’t know it’s there. Especially if you moved into a house years after its construction, there could be some pipes hiding in places that you don’t know about. Never assume that what you see is what you have when you’re looking at the lines in your home’s basement or service closet. If the lines aren’t clearly marked with signs of where they go, ask one of our plumbers to check. Once you know where the lines are, you can take preventative measures to protect them from freezing.
Identifying the pipes is also helpful in case your prevention efforts fail. If you notice a pipe is frozen, you can go to the corresponding shutoff valve for that line and turn it off. This prevents more water from feeding into the pipe and potentially encouraging it to burst.
2. Insulation
By far the biggest solution is to insulate any lines in your house where there might be exposure to cold. This is particularly true if a line runs near an outside wall. Never assume that the wall’s insulation will do the work for you. Pipe insulation is usually easy and cost-effective. A common solution is a foam sleeve that goes around the pipe. These are easy to retrofit onto existing pipes, even ones that have been around for decades. Sleeves with other materials like mineral wool and fiberglass are also available.
You should also consider insulating attached plumbing systems. An insulation layer for the water heater, for example, can reduce the risk that the tank will feed cooled water into the system if its pilot goes out. Note that insulation will also save you some money by keeping your hot water warm for a longer period.
3. Relocating Pipes
Particularly if you’ve had problems with frozen lines along certain walls in your house, you may want to look at relocating the pipes. Running them along an inside wall reduces exposure to chilled air from the outside. As long as you can keep the inside of the house at a reasonable temperature, the relocated lines will be less likely to freeze. Note that relocation is an especially good idea if the wind tends to hit your house on one side. Steady winds in the winter aid the freezing process, and anything that keeps your pipes away from the windward side of the house is a good idea. A professional plumbing service can help with the planning and the actual repiping process.
4. Keep Spaces With Pipes Warm
Warm air will always reduce the risk that pipes will freeze. Check the air temperature in the most isolated places where the pipes are. In many homes, this will be in the basement along the outside walls. If the temperature isn’t staying steadily above 55 degrees Fahrenheit, then you might need to increase the temperature. Many people have a vent from their home’s heating unit to warm the basement, for example. Alternatively, you could add a standalone heater in the troublesome area or run a vent from the heater to that spot. If you use a standalone system, though, make sure it’s in a safe spot with lots of air circulation. You don’t want to create a fire hazard.
5. Turn Off Unused Lines Before Winter
Many people have lines in their houses that they don’t use even if just for seasonal reasons. For example, you might have an outside spigot for a garden hose. As you get into fall and stop gardening, turn that line off at the interior shutoff valve. Drain the line by running the water at the spigot. Turn it off once the water stops dripping.
Waterbury Heating & Cooling, Inc. is ready to serve the residents of Sioux Falls and the surrounding areas. We tackle many plumbing problems, including work on water heaters and tankless systems. You can also look to us for electrical and HVAC services.
If you’re concerned about the possibility of pipes freezing in your house, contact Waterbury Heating & Cooling, Inc. today for a consultation.
