As cold weather approaches, you may take several steps to prepare the interior of your home. However, don’t forget about preparing your home’s exterior, too.
Curious about how to maintain your outdoor plumbing this winter? Don’t worry—we’ve got you covered. With our guidance, preparing your outdoor plumbing for the cold season is simple and stress-free!
Protecting Your Faucets
Before freezing temperatures arrive, you must disconnect any hoses from your outdoor faucets. Leftover water inside the hoses could expand as it freezes, damaging the fixture.
You may want to drain all the water inside the pipe that services the faucet. Use a shutoff valve to stop water from flowing to the faucet. Then open the spigot and let it all drain out.
If you have a bleeder cap near your shutoff valve, you can open the cap to drain any lingering water.
If you have leaky faucets that you ignored all summer, call our expert plumbers for service before freezing temperatures hit. Even a small leak could let ice form inside the faucet, causing cracks that could lead to major repairs later on.
Insulating Pipes To Protect Them From the Cold
You might not be able to fully drain some pipes exposed to the elements. In cases like this, you should add insulation to them.
For any that have air exposure, you can wrap foam insulation around them. If you need help deciding which ones to insulate and which materials to use, our technicians can visit your home and provide advice. We can also insulate the pipes for you.
If temperatures are going to be extremely low for an extended period, you may want to slightly open a faucet connected to these insulated pipes. Having a trickle of water moving through them often keeps things from freezing, further protecting your system.
Preparing Your Automatic Sprinkler System for Winter
Have you been thinking about outdoor plumbing maintenance and what to do for winter? If you have an automatic sprinkler system, you must winterize it before freezing temperatures arrive.
You need to clear all the water from the underground pipes and from the sprinkler heads. If you leave water in these areas and it freezes, it will expand and could crack the materials. You’ll then have to deal with major leaks and repairs before you can use the sprinklers the following spring.
The draining technique for your sprinkler system will depend on its specific design. If you’re unsure what to do, our plumbers can help you with the winterization process for your underground sprinklers.
Let Our Professionals Help You With Winter Plumbing Maintenance
If you’re unsure about outdoor plumbing maintenance and what to do for winter, we can help! Our expert technicians at 365 Heating, Cooling & Plumbing can provide outdoor plumbing winter tips and advice, or we can visit your property and winterize the outdoor plumbing for you.
Plumbing care during winter is important to avoid the possibility of a frozen pipe bursting. For help with protecting outdoor pipes and any other needs you have, call 365 Heating, Cooling & Plumbing today at (888) 407-4822.
