And Why You Should Bother, Even in Texas
It’s not quite winter yet, although many of us are dreaming of it. That does mean that it’s the perfect time to winterize your pipes if you haven’t already though. We’re taking a look this week at what that means (because your blogger didn’t know prior to this week), why you should bother, and what that looks like. Let’s dig in.
What does winterizing pipes mean?
Winterizing your pipes means going through the steps of getting them ready for winter and freezing temperatures. Whether the temperatures are that low just overnight or for long weeks at a time, your pipes, and home, need to be protected. Fortunately there are plenty of things that you can do to achieve just that.
Why should you winterize your pipes in Texas?
Let’s start by reminding everyone of last February. 2 weeks of ice and snow, power outages and all of us going “But this is Texas!”
Aside from the curveballs that Mother Nature likes to throw at us, there are still reasons to winterize your pipes. It might only get below freezing at night, but a few hours of that is still enough to cause damage. While the worst case scenario is that you have your pipes burst and your home floods, there are other things that can happen. You can have cracks begin to form in the pipes that are going to seep during the summer into your foundation.
We will say that while it’s necessary to winter your outdoor pipes, you can be more choosy about which of your indoor pipes to do the same to.
Image by Tim Pierce on Flickr of a broken and frozen water pipe. This is what happens when you don’t winterize your pipes! :D
When is the best time to winterize your pipes?
The best time to winterize your pipes is before the first hard freeze. So… now would be a good time. Or maybe this weekend after you’ve slept off your Thanksgiving nap. Alternatively, you can push it out till the weather is staying in the 50-55*F range during the day.
How do you winterize your pipes?
When it comes to winterizing your pipes, there are two ways you can go about it. You can winterize your pipes for a long vacancy (say if you’re going away on a trip for Christmas) or for several months. Alternatively, you can do a ‘general’ winterizing for your home if you plan on staying in town all winter.
If you’re going out of town for a Long Vacancy
Start by shutting off the main water valve, all water pumps and water heaters. You might question that last one, but think about leaving a pot on the stove with no water in it. The same thing can happen to your water heater.
Now open all of your drain valves and taps. Start by making a list and check it as you go through the house. Make sure to check it twice in true Christmas spirit and check off each valve and tap as you go through the house.
Go through all of the pipes and using an air compressor, blow out any remaining water. You know how if you turn off a hose during the summer it will still have some water in the pipe until it either evaporates or you hang the hose up? Same concept here, except its winter, so the evaporation is going to take a long time and you can’t hang up the pipes for your house. Better to blow them out rather than risk them having water freeze in the bends.
Next, go to the drain valve for your hot water tank. Check to see if that is a floor valve or if it hooks to another pipe. If it is a floor valve you’ll need to run a hose from the valve to say your nearest sink, this way it doesn’t empty onto the floor. Now open it up and drain it completely.
Go ahead and empty all the water from the holding tank next. This is especially important if it’s a holding tank with a rubber diaphragm.
For extra safety, you might consider adding a small amount of antifreeze to the jet pump case.
Going back through the house, flush all of your toilets. You want to try and empty as much of the water from both the tanks and the bowls as possible. You won’t be able to get everything out, but you should be able to get the majority emptied.
And you’re done with the inside of your home! Cross off your list, but make sure to hold on to it for when you get back so that you can reverse everything.
Now let’s go outside.
Once again your going to start by shutting off the water supply valve. If new water can’t flow through, all you have to worry about is what’s left in the system. Now disconnect any hoses or sprinklers and store them away for the winter. We like using racks in the garage for storing our hoses.
Once you’re back outside, turn all of the outdoor faucets on full and let them run. You want to keep them running until there is barely a trickle coming out, if anything. Now turn them all off and make sure to firmly close the valve.
As a final tip you might consider purchasing an insulated faucet cover. They look like a cow bell for the most part and use a string to stay firmly attached to the faucet and house. Congrats! You’ve winterized the outside of your home as well!
Some last general tips.
Consider the insulation of your home. We’ve talked about the importance of it when you’re trying to keep your home cool, but it’s just as important for trying to keep your home warm. See if there are any crawl spaces over or under your home and if you can fill them or just better insulate them to keep cold air out.
Take a look at your laundry room. Because they need to drain water out many laundry rooms are on the outside of the home, typically attached to our garages. They’re particularly vulnerable in these areas. Even just putting a door sock on the garage door can be a help in keeping the cold air from getting in.
If you can, try to keep the heat on. The warmer the house is, the less likely it is that you’ll need to worry about the cold fingers of winter freezing your home’s plumbing.
So that’s the process of winterizing your pipes. How much did you know before? Have you done it previously or is this your first year? Are you laughing that our blogger didn’t know how to winterize her home? Let us know over on our Facebook page and tell us if we missed anything!
If you wound up here because your washer is damaged, we can help! All you need to do is call us at ((214) 599-0055) or reach out on our contact page. We at Appliance Rescue Service are here to help keep your home running smoothly.