Winterizing the pipes in your home may be a good idea if you know your plumbing systems are at risk of freezing when the weather gets cold. As water freezes, it expands, which can create increased pressure inside the pipes and potentially cause blockages or even bursts.
Winterizing becomes absolutely necessary if you have a seasonal home that is going to be vacant for a long period of time over the winter without any water running through the plumbing system.
Here’s some information from a plumbing service in Modesto, CA about how you should winterize your pipes:
- Preparation: Before you begin the actual winterization process, start by creating a plan that you can follow to the letter so you don’t miss any important steps. Make sure this plan includes a checklist of every area of your house, as well as all the steps you need to take in the winterization process.
- Shut off the water: The first step any time you do any plumbing work should be to shut off the main water valve. You should turn off both the water pump and the water heater as well, to ensure you protect all the heating elements inside your home’s water heater when there’s not any water inside the tank.
- Open the valves and taps: Open up all the drain valves and taps, and make sure you’ve noted on your checklist when you’ve opened up each individual one so you can be sure everything has been opened up. If you leave any of the taps closed in the system, this could result in the creation of a vacuum that traps water in the pipes. You should keep all the taps and valves open all winter long. You can then prevent excess water from standing in the pipes by using air compressors to blow that water out through the system.
- Drain the hot water tank: Open up your hot water tank’s drain valve and let it discharge until it’s empty. Make sure the tank drains safely—if you do not have a floor drain in the area near your hot water tank, you’ll need to connect a hose to run the water to a place where it can drain.
- Drain the holding tank: After draining the hot water tank, drain out all the water that was left in the holding tank, including the one behind the rubber diaphragm, which is used along with the water tank to create pressure to force the water through the pipes in your home. Add some antifreeze into the jet pump case after you’ve done this to create more protection.
- Get water out of toilets: Flush the toilets to remove as much water as possible from the tanks and bowls. Add antifreeze to prevent any water that you can’t get out from freezing and cracking the toilet during the winter.
- Pipe protection: Beyond these steps, you can protect pipes by wrapping them, add insulation in at-risk areas, caulk up holes or cracks in walls or floors and make sure you maintain heat in the building during the winter.
For more tips about winterizing your pipes, or for general information about our plumbing services in Modesto, CA, contact Alvarado Pumping Septic Service today.