Getting Your Plumbing Ready For Winter

With summer almost behind us, it’s time to get ready for cold weather. Preparing your home in advance can prevent many kinds of frozen pipes and broken  components. Failing to properly winterize your home could result in thousands of dollars of repairs.

Take the necessary precautions to prepare your home, BEFORE the temperature drops with our cold weather checklist!

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Winterize Faucets

• Disconnect and drain garden hoses
• From inside, close the shut  off valve for the outdoor faucet. Open drain on valve if present
• Go outside and open outdoor faucet. Leave it open to allow water to drain

Check for Exposed Pipe 

Frozen pipes are a major cause of property damage in the fall and winter. Insulating them can help, but the real question is why did they freeze? The pipes may need to be relocated or the insulation may need to be added to the surrounding area.

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Some good places to look for exposed pipes would be the basement, the garage or outside. Heat tape can be an effective way to keep pipes from freezing.

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Inspect Your Furnace 

If your furnace quits, your pipes could freeze and burst. Make sure your heating system is tip-top at the start of every heating season.

Service Your Water Heater

You don’t want to be without hot water when the temperature falls. Schedule an annual maintenance during the fall so you can stay warm this winter.

Prepare for Vacations 

Maybe you’re leaving town for the winter, or perhaps just visiting family for the weekend. If so, be sure to turn your home’s water off, that way if the pipes do freeze and crack, there will be less damage.

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Call the Professionals 

While preparing your home for winter is often something you can do yourself, sometimes you might need an expert.

Our licensed plumbing and heating technicians are experts at preventing damage due to cold weather, so give us a call!