The snowy winter weather offers things like sledding down the neighborhood hill or snowball fights in the back yard. At the same time, winter weather can be hard on your home. Excessively cold conditions can encourage the water lines in your home to freeze and burst, which can cause significant water damage and enduring negative effects.

If your pipes are frozen, you should hire a plumber in McAllen to fix them. However, there’s several tasks you can do to keep this from happening – and even minor prevention can go a long way.

What Pipes Are at Risk of Freezing

The pipes at the largest risk of freezing are exposed water lines. Frequent locations for exposed pipes are inside attic crawlspaces, near exterior walls, in the basement or even running under a modular home. Water lines that are not correctly insulated are at the greatest risk.

How to Prevent Pipes from Freezing Over in Your Home

Sufficiently insulating uncovered water lines is a good first step to keeping your pipes safe. You’ll likely find many of these materials from a local plumbing company, and might also already have some someplace in your home.

Be mindful not to cover other flammable insulation materials where they might light on fire. If you don’t feel comfortable insulating the pipes on your own, contact your local plumbing services professional in McAllen to handle the job.

If you do decide to insulate the pipes on your own, common insulation materials for pipes include:

  • Wraps or roll insulation: Multiple plumbers, hardware stores and big box retailers sell insulation – commonly fiberglass, foam wraps or pipe sleeves – that you can wrap or fit around your pipes. They are offered in different lengths and sizes to suit the needs of your home.
  • Newspaper: To some degree, newspaper can be used as an insulator. If the weather is getting colder and you aren’t able to buy insulation in time, wrap uninsulated pipes in this.
  • Towels or rags: If you miss the opportunity to buy insulation and don’t have any newspaper close by, wrapping notably vulnerable pipes with towels or clean rags as a final effort can be just enough to keep the cold air from freezing the pipes.

Another preventative step you can take to prevent pipes from being covered in ice is to seal any cracks that may permit cold air into your home. Keep an eye on the window frames, which can let in surprisingly powerful drafts. Not only should this help to keep your pipes from freezing, but it will have the added benefit of making your home more energy efficient.

Five More Ways to Keep Your Pipes from Freezing:

  • Open the cabinet doors. Opening the cabinet doors underneath the sinks and other spaces of your home that have pipes will allow more warm air from the rest of the room to flow near the pipes.
  • Letting water drip. Keeping the water flowing by letting your faucets trickle even just a bit can help thwart frozen pipes.
  • Open interior doors. By opening doors between rooms or hallways, your home can be heated more equally. This is particularly important if you have a room that is generally colder or hotter than the remainder of your home.
  • Close the garage door. The exception to the open doors tip is the garage door, which you should keep shut – especially if your water lines run through the garage.
  • Keep the heat steady. Experts recommend setting the thermostat at a constant temperature and leaving it there, rather than letting it get colder at night. Set it no cooler than 55 degrees.

How to Prevent Pipes from Freezing in a Vacant Home

When you’re at home, it’s not difficult to realize when something isn’t right. But what additional steps can you take to prevent pipes from freezing in an unused home or vacation home when the consequences from a frozen pipe might not be discovered for days or even weeks?

As with the main residence, insulating any exposed water lines, opening interior doors in the home and winterizing the vacant home are the best steps to try at first.

Other Steps to Stop Pipes from Freezing in a Vacant Home:

  1. Leave the heat on. Even though you aren’t going to be there, it’s best to leave the heat on – even if you switch the thermostat down colder than you would if you were there. As with a primary residence, experts suggest keeping the temperature at no cooler than 55 degrees.
  2. Shut water off and drain the lines. If you’re going to be away for a long time or are winterizing a rustic cabin or cottage, turning the water off to the house and clearing the water out of the water lines is one way to keep pipes from freezing and breaking. Remember to clear the water out of any appliances, like the hot water heater, as well as the toilets. Confirm you get all the water from the plumbing. If you’re unsure of how to drain the water from the pipes, or don’t feel comfortable performing it without any help, a plumber in McAllen will be glad to step in.