Winter is a season when the temperatures can dip below freezing and affect your outdoor and indoor plumbing.

This can cause you a lot of headaches and cost you a lot in repairs if you allow the problems to fester.

You can avoid such scenarios if you take a few simple steps to nip them in the bud.

The Best 5 Winter Plumbing Tips

Here are the best five winter plumbing tips you should try:

Let Your Faucet Drip

Leave a few faucets dripping. This will help keep the water flowing and stop it from freezing because it’s always moving. This will also reduce pressure on the pipes and protect against bursts if the water freezes. There’s no doubt that a dripping faucet could lead to a slight increase in your water bill, but you have nothing to worry about with burst pipes during the winter.

Insulate Your Pipes

Insulate your pipes if you have a few exposed pipes on exterior walls and outdoors. Do the same to all the unheated areas of your home where pipes are used. Wrap the pipes in insulation tubes, especially ones made from fiberglass or polyethylene, to help protect them against freezing.

Disconnect Hoses

Your pipes can still freeze during the winter if your hose is filled with water and left outside in the cold weather while still connected to your faucet. This can happen regardless of whether you have insulated your pipes. So, disconnect your hoses from faucets during the winter to prevent ice from backing up from the hose and into your pipes.

Drain the Water Heater

You’ll mostly need hot water during the winter, but sometimes you’re worried that your water heater might not get you through the season, especially if it’s getting old. That’s why it’s necessary to drain your water heater to remove any sediment that may have accumulated over time. Otherwise, the sediment could turn to rust, and you could end up drinking or eating it.

Repair Leaks

Water expands when it freezes. This can increase the pressure on your pipes and cause them to rupture. Although leaks can occur at any time, it’s better to fix them on time. Otherwise, risk spending more money on repairs during the winter when freezing would likely force the leaks to expand and become worse.

So, the best five winter plumbing tips you should try to implement if you want peace of mind this season include the following: Let your faucet dip, insulate your pipes, disconnect hoses, drain the water heater, and repair leaks immediately you notice them.

How Plumbing 911 Can Assist

Plumbing 911 is a reputable plumbing firm made up of professionals. Plumbing 911 offers full service for both residential and commercial properties, including everyday maintenance and emergency needs. Our professionals are skilled in fixing clogged drains and toilets, leaky and damaged faucets and pipes, low water pressure, running toilets, sump pumps, and water heaters. For a free inspection in your area, call Plumbing 911 at 1-866-720-0911, schedule an appointment today, or send an email. We cover Cuyahoga East, Cuyahoga West, Medina, Summit, Stark, Lake, and Geauga.