second arctic boom sent our temperatures plummeting into the depression
We thought frozen pipes were a worry we’d left behind by moving to Florida, simply final calendar month’second arctic boom sent our temperatures plummeting into the depression 20s for iii nights inwards a row (alongside an all-fourth dimension low of xviii degrees, which they’re calling a in one case-in-a-century result here inwards Northwest, FL).
This was specially concerning because Florida homes inwards our area aren’t always constructed amongst this weather inward heed. Frozen pipes are bad intelligence because water expands when it freezes, potentially causing pipes to outburst or crevice, leading to leaking or flooding.
Luckily, with a few easy prevention steps nosotros successfully kept our pipes from freezing! Which, sadly, isn’t something a lot of our neighbors tin can tell. Many people we know had an upshot amongst a pipage or ii bursting – so we’re extremely grateful that the steps nosotros took kept ours protected. Here are v things that worked for us, including a tip from a local plumber that saved our outdoor shower!
Tip i: Identify Your Problem Pipes
The showtime affair to do is assess the plumbing inwards your dwelling for spots that are specially prone to freezing. This pace helps you lot to prioritize your efforts and tells you lot what areas yous should go along a close heart on once the temperatures drop. This includes just isn’t limited to:
- Outdoor plumbing fixtures like hose bibs or outdoor showers
- Pipes inwards unconditioned areas similar garages, attics, or crawl spaces
- Plumbing on exterior walls
- Pipes unopen off from oestrus sources, like inwards indoor cabinetry or closets
- Pipes exposed to wind, like on docks
- Uninsulated pipes anywhere
For us, our main business was our outside plumbing – namely our H2O heater (seen in a higher place), outdoor shower, too hose bibs. We were less concerned nigh our interior plumbing because we were unlikely to lose power/estrus (thanks to our whole-house generator & the peace of heed that gives us), in addition to losing interior estrus is unremarkably what endangers indoor pipes. But here are roughly tips for preventing frozen pipes when your rut goes out, just inwards example.
Tip 2: Add Insulation To Your Pipes
Some of our outside pipes were already insulated, like the water heater shown above. But many of them were not including a long department of copper pipe running to our outdoor shower (you lot can run into it exposed inwards this postal service). So as presently every bit we saw the forecast, we beat out the rush to the store together with bought several lengths of self-sealing foam tubular pipe insulation. They’re slowly to install too solely price virtually $iii for a six-pes subway system. Just live sure to selection upward approximately elbows as well as tees as needed likewise
It took us most xv minutes to install the foam tubes on whatever uninsulated outdoor pipes. In spots where we couldn’t check a full subway system, we used more or less of this adhesive insulating tape instead. This worked well on more or less of the knobby sections of certain hose bibs or where about pipes were installed snugly to the siding.
Lastly, we besides double-checked about of the plumbing in our attic to make sure it was sufficiently covered in insulation. We take blown insulation up there together with roughly of it had gotten moved off of a section of piping, then we just brushed it dorsum over. We read over as well as over over again that fifty-fifty if your plumbing is within, if it’second uninsulated together with inwards an attic, basement, or garage it tin can nonetheless freeze as well as outburst (in fact my aunt inwards Richmond had that consequence amongst a pipage inward her garage final twelvemonth when it got extra cold upward in that location).
Tip 3: Drip Your Faucets
This tip is an oldie, only a goodie. Moving H2O tin’t freeze every bit apace as stagnant H2O, and so forcing your pipes to keep flowing – even only a trickle! – is a groovy mode to forestall frozen pipes. Just don’t forget to drip both your cold and hot water lines. We read quite a few articles that said you but call for to drip the common cold, just that definitely tripped upwardly a span of our neighbors in addition to they had the hot water lines outburst! So we definitely had a completely successful upshot by slightly dripping both.
It was easy to drip the hot and cold water lines inside. In the bathroom, we but turned both the hot & common cold levers on slightly. And in the kitchen, we set our faucet halfway between hot & common cold too opened it to a tiny trickle.
Our outdoor shower was a chip trickier because engaging the hot water would mean turning the shower on to a full spray, which was not something we were eager to do for iii days direct while it wavered betwixt lows of eighteen as well as 22 degrees. Luckily, a local plumber gave us the tip to withdraw the showerhead and put a cap on it instead. Buuuuuuut, instead of screwing the cap on tightly, only mitt-tighten it and so that a piffling scrap of H2O can even so leak out. This allowed us to set up the shower to a heart temperature (which ensured that H2O was slightly moving through the hot H2O too the common cold water occupation), just notwithstanding only let it drip instead of fully spraying three nights inwards a row. One of our friends had their outdoor showers pause during the deep freeze too he later realized he had solely allow his cold H2O drip, and so the hot H2O line was the one that froze too outburst. And our neighbor across the street didn’t drip anything outside, so both of her shower lines flare-up.
Just to be condom, nosotros kept all of our interior too outside fixtures rattling slightly dripping for the full three days of our cold snap. We regularly checked our outdoor fixtures to make certain they were yet lightly dripping as well as in that location wasn’t any water ice construct-upwards or blockage. We fifty-fifty set signs on our indoor sinks to remind our kids (in addition to ourselves!) not to plow things off inward an early morning haze or tardily-nighttime bout of forgetfulness.
And while it may experience similar a big “waste” of water to go out faucets on for then long, dripping should accept negligible effects on your H2O nib. I read a few articles that said it was around two-5 cents per sink per twenty-four hour period. And intend of it this mode: it uses a lot less water than having a large leak that floods your menage or one thousand!
Tip iv: Turn Your Water Fully Off
An alternate strategy is to merely fully plow the water off to your dwelling or portions of your home. For example, if nosotros had had a classify close-off for our outdoor shower, nosotros probable would’ve done that instead. It’s non like anyone was going to shower exterior inwards that weather condition! It’second also a smashing pick if you’re leaving town together with won’t live home to continue your faucets dripping or to monitor for leaks. We really turn off our primary H2O anytime we get on a trip because outburst pipes can occur inward whatever weather (we take a friend who came dwelling house to a flooded offset floor inwards the summertime! AWFUL!).
Just recall that afterward shutting off the water, you lot nonetheless involve to loose the pressure level of the water that’second even so sitting in the pipes. Find your lowest plumbing fixture (commonly an outdoor hose bib) too open it for several seconds until the flow slows downwards. This was a tip from a plumber friend inwards Cape Charles who told us that sometimes people plough off the water just don’t call back to save the force per unit area too they however come back to frozen pipes that have outburst.
Tip v: A Pool Looks Vulnerable But Can Typically Handle It
Like many Floridians, nosotros take a pool that we purpose yr-round. It’s non covered or winterized or anything else that is typical in colder climates (an open-year-circular puddle is the norm hither). This was our starting time meaning common cold snap since our puddle was completed and so nosotros were pretty worried at starting time. We saw a lot of EXPOSED too UNSINULATED plumbing about our puddle equipment. Gulp.
But after speaking alongside our puddle cleaner (who’s from Kansas, so he knows common cold), nosotros were assured that our arrangement would be fine. Our Hayward controller has a built-inward “Freeze Protect” fashion that automatically engages whenever the air temperature drops below 36 degrees. This keeps the pumps, fountains, spa jets, together with puddle heater running on continuous cycles to ensure that the H2O never sits besides long or gets too common cold. Plus, he reassured us, that if the controller were to neglect, it would take a long fourth dimension for our large PVC pipes to freeze fully through too crack. Even older pools without “Freeze Protect” can usually but live manually set up to wheel water as well as role the pumps to keep things from freezing, then that’sec overnice to know.
While nosotros’d never propose you not to worry virtually your pool at all, we establish a lot of comfort inward watching our pool go on itself safety during the cold weather. We did absolutely naught and it just kicked things on together with off as well as moved H2O about for 4 firm days. We yet checked on it to brand certain we saw the fountains flowing too spa bubbling periodically – simply it was completely self-sufficient as well as did a nifty chore. So definitely check your organisation or consult your puddle fellowship earlier common cold conditions to know what to look from your detail puddle, simply if it has somewhat recent engineering (similar Freeze Protect) OR you lot can simply manually turn it on to go on water flowing, y’all should hopefully live all proficient. Oh and it really helps to ensure that you lot’ll likely maintain power. Lots of people take dorsum-upward generators hither for that peace of mind.
Tip #vi: Nothing’s Foolproof…
In full general, these tips may not be plenty to finish every unmarried possible problem amongst pipes freezing depending on your particular situation as well as atmospheric condition outcome, but nosotros’re extremely glad nosotros took these precautions and they definitely helped us feel a lot amend about going into this latest arctic boom in addition to, for us at to the lowest degree, they kept us from experiencing whatsoever plumbing issues at all.
More Freezing Weather Preparations
In addition to prepping our pipes for this unusually common cold Florida atmospheric condition, we likewise took several steps to protect our plants from freezing. You can read the half-dozen steps we took, including which ones worked better than others correct here in this postal service.
And once more, if you lot happen to experience your estrus going out, we’ve written a post all nearly how to prevent frozen pipes when your estrus goes out.
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