Nobody wants frozen pipes. But here in Long Island City, temperatures are already starting to drop pretty quickly. Even before all of the autumn leaves are off the trees, freezing temperatures are expected. If your home plumbing is not protected against the elements, you’re running a very real chance of having frozen or burst pipes.
What’s the Big Deal About Frozen Pipes?
If you’ve never experienced frozen pipes, it may not sound like such a big deal. The water inside pipes that get too cold solidifies into ice. When temperatures rise, the ice will melt and the household will have water again, right?
Not exactly. While it’s possible for pipes to freeze without any negative consequences, the majority of the time, the expansion of water into ice creates damage. Small cracks, breaks, and weakening of the pipe are early signs of damage. Over the course of time, with repeated freezes, or in instances where a freeze happened very rapidly, pipes can burst.
When pipes burst, the ice and water that was within the pipes comes out all over the place. Your possessions, including your furniture, important papers, electronics, and kids’ stuff, will be soaked and potentially ruined. Sometimes it’s drain pipes, including sewer drain pipes, that freeze and burst. That’s a very big nasty mess to have to deal with.
How To Prevent Frozen Pipes
Preventing frozen pipes is a task you can tackle on your own, or you can have your Long Island City plumber do the job if you don’t want to spend your precious free time in your basement dealing with your pipes.
Winterizing a home’s plumbing includes flushing and draining any exterior plumbing. This includes your hose, any outdoor kitchen plumbing, hoses attached to the garage, and so on. Additionally, within the home, your plumber will look for any exposed pipes or pipes that are vulnerable because they’re in under-insulated parts of the home. These pipes can be protected against the cold with insulating wrap and more. This allows you to enjoy a stress-free winter.
