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Have you taken the proper precautions to protect your home from frozen pipes? Cold winter weather can cause pipes in your home to freeze and potentially burst, leading to water damage or flooding. A few simple preventative measures can help save you from the costs and headaches associated with frozen pipes.
Which Pipes are at Danger?
The pipes most at risk of freezing are:
- Pipes located in exterior walls
- Pipes in unheated areas like attics or garages
- Pipes located on the exterior of the home
- Pipes in outbuildings or unused sections of the home
Pipes in Exterior Walls
Plumbing located in exterior walls can be significantly cooler than the temperature on the interior of your home, especially if the walls are not properly insulated. (Northern facing walls can be more prone to freezing since they receive less sunlight.) Even if insulation is present, poorly installed insulation can lose as much as 50% of its effectiveness. Signs of poorly insulated walls may include moisture or mold on the interior surface, surface cracks or nail pops, and walls that feel cool to the touch. If any of these signs exist or if a pipe previously has frozen in the same wall, reinsulating the wall should be considered. Spray foam can add better protection and can also help to prevent air leaks. If improved insulation does not completely resolve the problem, pipes may need to be rerouted to interior walls.
Pipes in Unheated Areas
Plumbing routed through unheated attics, crawl spaces and garages is especially prone to freezing. Snap-on pipe insulation should be applied in these areas, and for particularly cold areas, heated plumbing tape/cable that turns on when temperatures approach freezing can be installed to electrically heat the pipes.
Exterior Pipes
Frozen hoses and exterior pipes can do more than just damage the outside hose and spigot. When water freezes in a hose that is still attached to the spigot, it increases pressure in the pipes, which in turn can expand and lead to a burst pipe on the interior of the home. All exterior hoses should be drained and disconnected from spigots during the winter. If you do not have a frost-proof spigot, the shut-off valves (located on the plumbing line inside of the home) should be turned off for the winter. Faucet insulators that cap the spigot should be installed on all exterior faucets.
Outbuildings, Unused Areas of the Home and Secondary Homes
Outbuildings (like a guest house or pool house), secondary homes that are not occupied in the winter and unused sections of large homes with multiple heating zones all see increased occurrences of frozen pipes. Make sure that the thermostat is always set to a minimum of 55 degrees so that temperatures in the colder sections of these buildings do not approach freezing. For any buildings not in use during the winter, turn off the main water supply and drain the pipes.
Further Precautions to Avoid Frozen Pipes
The simple measures outlined above should prevent most pipes from freezing, but for further precaution or for particularly challenging instances, consider installing the following:
- Low temperature sensors connected to a monitored alarm system that sends alerts when temperatures approach freezing. Low temperature sensors should be installed on each level of the home near areas that get cold first, like an exterior wall.
- “Smart home” controlled thermostats that can be monitored and controlled remotely.
- Permanent backup generators that automatically supply power to the heating system during outages.
- Water leak detection systems that automatically shut off the main water supply if a leak is detected.
Via Brian Carroll with Chubb Personal Risk Services at: http://riskconversation.com/blog/personal/2017/02/27/preventing-frozen-pipes/.