Doing business in the state of New York, means we must deal with a number of different weather conditions – frozen, damaged or cracked pipes being some of the most common due to New York’s harsh winters.
The fact of the matter is that the majority of plumbing pipes run at approximately four to eight gallons per minute, therefore when in the event that one of your pipes were to become frozen, it is highly likely to become cracked and cause a complete disaster that could lead to tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage. Once a pipe cools even one or two degrees below the freezing point, it can cause the formation of unwanted ice – and a raise in pressure of over 3000psi, easily causing a largescale crack in your piping. And once the frozen water is thawed, water damage is very likely. Therefore, at Elite Plumbing we do our best to help prevent frozen pipes from forming at all, protecting you and your loved ones from extensive water damage.
How Do We Prevent Frozen Pipes?
- Keeping your pipes from freezing is one of the most important aspects of plumbing care, especially in New York, with our especially harsh winters. Here are some of the helpful methods we use to prevent your pipes from cracking at all.
- Keeping water moving fluidly throughout your pipes by regularly opening and closing faucets regularly. This ensures that the water doesn’t have the opportunity to sit for too long and become frozen.
- Another important tip is to keep the air around the pipes moving, often we might place a small fan near the pipes and plumbing system as a whole. As this air moved, is prevents things from freezing.
- Properly insulate all external, or exposed piping with proper insulation materials.
- Replace drafty windows and doors, and seal off unwanted cold exposure points such as an attic door.
- We also recommend periodically opening up cabinets that might be covering your under-sink pipes – as this allows warm air to circulate and prevent freezing pipes.
- Properly seal off all basement windows, doors, and possible crawlspaces that might exist. Also make sure the areas are properly weather-stripped.
Disconnect and drain all of your outdoor hoses and water spigots before the onset of the winter season.
At Elite Plumbing & Heating, in the event you might be worried about your pipes freezing during this next winter season, be sure to contact us to properly insulate and weather-strip your exposed plumbing areas. For more information on all there is to know about your plumbing and heating systems, be sure to contact Elite Plumbing & Heating today.
