Winter Plumbing Tips

Cold weather is here, and that means it’s important to take special care of your plumbing. Without some extra care, your pipes could easily freeze, causing you to have to spend money on costly repairs. The holidays can also bring some problems for your plumbing. But with a bit of preparation, you should be able to get through the winter without any major plumbing problems. So, we are going to give you some tips on how to properly care for your plumbing this winter.

Know Where Your Main Water Valve Is Located

Even if you prepare your plumbing for winter, you never know when you may have a plumbing emergency and need to turn off the water supply to your house. So, it’s important to know where your main water valve is located, so you can quickly turn off your water to limit any damage to your home. The main water valve is generally located close to your water meter, but this isn’t always the case, so you may need to look around for it.

Turn Off Any Outside Valves

Water pipes can freeze and rupture if the temperature falls below freezing, but you can help prevent this and help keep your plumbing system safe by shutting off all outside water valves in the winter. It’s also a good idea to cover any pipes if they are located in areas of the home that are not sufficiently insulated. This includes any pipes that are exposed, which includes any that are located along the outer walls of your house, which may be prone to freezing when the weather gets very cold. You could wrap the pipes with towels or foam. Hardware stores often have kits for just this purpose. If it gets really cold outside and you are nervous about your pipes freezing, you could turn your faucets on enough so that they drip just a little to keep the water flowing slightly to prevent freezing.

Don’t Set Your Thermostat Too Low

If you take a vacation during the winter, you’re probably going to want to save some money by turning the thermostat down. This is probably a good idea if you don’t get carried away. However, if you turn the thermostat down too low, you could find your pipes freezing and even rupturing. If this happens, it could cost you far more money than just leaving your thermostat at a reasonable temperature. So, if you want to turn your thermostat down and save some money when you go away for a while, it’s best to set your thermostat to around 50 degrees Fahrenheit to avoid having your pipes freeze.

Holiday Cooking

For many people, the holidays involve a lot more cooking because of the increasing number of guests that visit at this time of year. This could easily mean more cooking fats and oils getting poured down the drain. This isn’t a very good idea at any time of the year, but it can cause even more trouble with your plumbing when the weather is cold.  Cold weather makes it more likely that fats will accumulate in your pipes and cause a clog. So, when the weather is cold outside, it’s even more important to avoid allowing fats and oils to go down your drains.

Final thoughts

With a long season of cold weather ahead, your pipes need protection to avoid freezing. Preparing your pipes for the weather ahead takes a bit of care and preparation, but it can keep your pipes healthy and working their best during the cold weather ahead.

Contact Us

For professional inspection and maintenance to keep your pipes working their best all season long, contact J Griffin Heating & Plumbing. Our technicians have more than thirty years of experience helping businesses and homeowners with plumbing and heating issues. Call us at 781-520-1212 and connect with us on Facebook.