Frozen And Burst Pipes

5 Nov, 2009  |  Written by Scott Rodgers  |  under plumbing

Freezing and bursting of water pipes is a common problem faced in the winter season. If the home temperature drops below 0 degree Celsius, the water supply pipes and drains can freeze. This further leads to expansion and if water finds no space for expansion, the pipe bursts.

When the ice starts melting inside, the pipe will leak and it can be anywhere in the whole supply system. Though a burst pipe can cause a lot of damage and you need to spend a lot of money on it’s repair but a leaking pipe can be even more destructive and expensive.

If your home is properly insulated and is built as per the current building codes, you can prevent your plumbing system from freezing provided that, the heating system runs properly, the electricity supply stays on, and the furnace fuel supply never runs out.

If yours is an old house, and if you think there is an insulation problem you can get it done during the remodeling. You can get the wall cavities insulated properly now, you can add foam insulation to the inner side of the studs or to the outer walls for extra protection.

Insulating the attic space is also beneficial. All these changes will protect your plumbing system but apart from that they will also minimize the home’s heat loss and therefore helps in saving energy.

Making all these improvements during the remodeling project can be very expensive. So if you are not in a mood to spend a lot of money, simply apply electric heat tape around the water supply pipes. These are thermostatically controlled devices and helps in keeping the the pipes warm during very cold weather.

Another way to prevent the pipes from freezing and bursting is to leave the taps in your house in dripping mode. It will make sure that the water in the pipes is in flowing condition and thus will check the water in the pipes from freezing.

It is generally advised to let the faucet run with a stream of water about the same diameter as a pencil. The stream needs to be warm water if you have both hot and cold water lines that are vulnerable to freezing. This is waste of energy but sometimes you have to follow this in order to prevent some major damage.

Scott Rodgers is a well-known author who has been providing great guidance on plumbing works all over the country. His stupendous knowledge has, in fact, sparked significant rise in revenue for talented plumbers across the nation, from Pomona Plumbers to Boca Raton Plumbers .

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