Lots of snow and winter weather offers a fun day sledding down the neighborhood hill or snowball fights in the front yard. However, winter weather can be tough on your home. Excessively cold conditions can cause the water lines in your house’s plumbing system to freeze and burst, which can lead to severe water damage and enduring negative effects.

When your pipes are frozen, you may want to contact a plumber in Sacramento to handle the problem. However, there’s several tasks you can do to stop this from happening – and even just a bit of prevention can go a long way.

What Pipes Are at More Risk of Freezing

The pipes at the highest risk of freezing are uninsulated water lines. Common locations for uncovered pipes are within attic crawlspaces, near exterior walls, in the basement or even running beneath a modular home. Water lines that are not appropriately insulated are at the highest risk.

How to Stop Pipes from Freezing in Your Home

Properly insulating uncovered water lines is a solid first step to keeping your pipes safe. You’ll likely have access to most of these materials from the local plumbing company, and might also already have some someplace in your home.

Try not to wrap up other flammable insulation materials where they can be caught on fire. If you don’t feel confident insulating the pipes yourself, contact your local plumbing services professional in Sacramento to do the job.

If you do prefer to insulate the pipes on your own, common insulation materials for pipes are:

  • Wraps or roll insulation: Lots of plumbers, hardware stores and large retailers provide insulation – usually fiberglass, foam wraps or pipe sleeves – that you can wrap or fit around your pipes. They are offered in various lengths and sizes to satisfy the needs of your home.
  • Newspaper: In a pinch, newspaper can be used as an insulator. If the weather is going to get cold and you aren’t able to buy insulation in time, wrap uninsulated pipes in this.
  • Towels or rags: If you miss the opportunity to add insulation and don’t have any newspaper to use, wrapping notably vulnerable pipes with towels or clean rags as a last-ditch effort can be just enough to keep the cold air away from the pipes.

One other preventative step you can take to keep pipes from becoming frozen is to seal any cracks that could let cold air in your home. Keep an eye on the window frames, which can draw in surprisingly powerful drafts. Not only should this help to stop your pipes from freezing, but it will have the extra benefit of making your home more energy efficient.

Five More Ways to Keep Your Pipes from Freezing:

  • Open the cabinet doors. Opening the cabinet doors beneath the sinks and other areas of your home that have pipes will enable more warm air from the rest of the room to flow near the pipes.
  • Letting water drip. Letting water flow by letting your faucets trickle even just a bit can help thwart frozen pipes.
  • Open interior doors. By opening doors for rooms or hallways, your home can be heated more equally. This is mostly important if you struggle with a room that is frequently colder or hotter than the remainder of your home.
  • Close the garage door. The exception to the open doors advice is the garage door, which you should keep down – especially if your water lines are installed under the garage.
  • Keep the heat consistent. Experts encourage setting the thermostat at a persistent temperature and leaving it there, rather than letting it get cooler at night. Set it no colder than 55 degrees.

How to Keep Pipes from Freezing in an Unused Home

When you’re in your own home, it’s easier to realize when something breaks down. But what extra steps can you take to keep pipes from freezing in an unused home or vacation home when the damages from a frozen pipe may not be discovered for some time?

As with a primary residence, insulating any exposed water lines, opening interior doors inside the home and winterizing the vacant home are the first steps to attempt first.

Extra Steps to Keep Pipes from Freezing in a Vacant Home:

  1. Leave the heat on. Even though you aren’t going to be there, it’s best to leave the heat on – even if you turn the thermostat down lower than you would if you were there. As with a primary residence, experts suggest keeping the temperature at no cooler than 55 degrees.
  2. Shut water off and drain the lines. If you’re going to be out of the house for a long time or are winterizing a seasonal cabin or cottage, switching the water off to the house and draining the water out of the water lines is one way to prevent pipes from freezing and bursting. Try not to forget to drain the water out of your appliances, such as the hot water heater, as well as the toilets. See to it that you clear out all the water from the plumbing. If you’re uncertain of how to clear out the water from the pipes, or don’t feel confident performing it on your own, a plumber in Sacramento will be delighted to offer support.