High school football, seasonal allergies and the return of jacket weather—they all offer unmistakable reminders that fall is here. And with the return of cooler temperatures comes the need for home and business owners to prepare their properties for winter.
While there are many aspects of your home that need seasonal attention, one of the most important is your plumbing. Why? Because failing to prepare your pipes and faucets for freezing temps can leave you cleaning up massive water damage in the middle of an ice storm. (Not only do we know you’ll want to avoid this scenario, we also think you’ll want to skip the bill that comes with it!)
So instead of taking your chances and playing the odds that nothing will go wrong, our Master plumbers at Morgan Miller Plumbing suggest you take advantage of any remaining nice weather and use it to prepare your plumbing for winter. We’ve even created a list of five tips to get you started:
- Disconnect your outside water hoses from the faucets. Leaving them connected can cause your faucets and pipes to break when the water remaining inside freezes and expands.
- While you’re outside, check to make sure those faucets aren’t leaking. If they are, have them repaired before the first hard freeze to keep them from cracking. If they’re all in good shape, turn off the shut-off valve to the exterior plumbing.
- Go ahead and stay outside a little longer and cover your exterior plumbing. At minimum, wrapping and securing a towel around the faucets is helpful, but we recommend purchasing insulation kits from local home stores for the best protection, especially those on north walls.
- Okay, you can go inside now, but only to the garage. Any pipes here or in other unheated areas of your property will need to be insulated. You can apply heat tape or thermostat-controlled heated cables to exposed pipes or those in danger of freezing.
- Next, turn your attention inside by focusing on your water heater. This essential piece of equipment works overtime in the winter, so flush it out and rinse away any built-up sediment. This will help reduce wear and tear and increase its efficiency.
If those five aren’t enough, we also suggest inspecting and cleaning out your sump pump, which can cause major damage if it freezes or if the discharge line is blocked, and cleaning out your gutters to help water drain properly away from your house.
At Morgan Miller Plumbing, we’re always ready to help you out of a plumbing mess, but we’d rather help you with preventative maintenance—for your sake. So if you see any potential issues during your fall plumbing preparation, don’t hesitate to call us. We’ll do our best work—any time and every time—to make sure you avoid costly disasters and pesky problems. And don’t forget, our services include water heaters and sump pumps, and we can help you make the necessary replacements or repairs before the cold of winter sets in.
So do yourself a favor. Take the time this fall to prepare your plumbing for the cold. While there’s always a chance you’ll regret not being ready for winter, you’ll never be sorry you played it safe.