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How To Prepare Your Outdoor Plumbing For Winter

admin • Dec 21, 2018

The winter season is finally here and we are doing everything we can to keep warm. This is the season when everyone wants to stay indoors in cozy pajamas and enjoy hot food and drinks. It’s very important to prepare ourselves and our houses for the cold season. You should make sure that the thermostat is working and that you have enough food in the house just in case the roads become impassable. But as much as we prepare the rest of the house for the winter season, we should not ignore the plumbing system. The home plumbing system is one of the most important and most delicate parts of the house. You should always ensure that the home plumbing system is in good working condition to ensure adequate water supply and proper waste disposal. The outdoor plumbing system is highly susceptible to malfunction during the winter season. The outdoor plumbing system includes all plumbing pipes, fixtures, and appliances that are installed outside the house and hence exposed to the extremely low winter temperatures. This is how you should prepare your outdoor plumbing before the winter season.

Inspect And Repair All Plumbing Faults

The first thing that you should do when preparing your plumbing system for winter is to conduct a thorough inspection of the whole home plumbing system. You can conduct the plumbing inspection on your own first before calling a professional plumber for a thorough inspection. During the inspection you will be looking for any existing or potential faults in your home plumbing system. Because the outdoor plumbing section is more susceptible to faults during the cold season, you should focus on this area when conducting the inspection. Focus your inspection on all the outdoor water supply pipes, faucets, hoses etc. Ensure that there are no leaks in all the outdoor pipes and fixtures. Some people install their water heaters outside the house because of space limitations. Make sure that the hot water tank is in perfect condition before winter because you really need the hot water during the chilly weather. Some drainage pipes are placed outdoors and these should also be inspected for leaks. Any existing or potential faults in your outdoor plumbing should be fixed immediately.

Drain Unused Pipes & Shutoff Their Water

frozen pipes AlexandriaIf you are going way for winter, make sure that all the outdoor pipes are drained and the shutoff the water. Also, people do not water their lawns regularly during the winter season. All the sprinklers and hoses should be drained and shut off during the winter season. This will ensure that no water is left running in the pipes. This water can freeze inside the pipes and cause a lot of damage.

Insulate Used Pipes & Faucets

When preparing your Alexandria outdoor plumbing for winter, you should focus more on the outdoor water supply pipes and any outdoor faucets. Remember that you have to continue using water during winter. This means that you cannot shutoff all the outdoor pipes and faucets. But you can insulate all these outdoor pipes and faucets with insulating sleeves to keep them warm during winter.

Insulate The Outdoor Water Heater Tank

If you have a hot water heater is installed outdoors, such as in a barn or outbuilding, ensure that you insulate the tank before the winter season kicks in. Cover the tank with an insulating blanket before winter. This will reduce heat loss and hence reduce your energy bill.

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