Winter plumbing problems you mostly find are the temperatures drop, frozen pipes, sluggish drains and more.
Today, common plumbing problems occur more frequently and have a stronger effect.
These problems can snowball without proper attention, resulting in costly repairs and serious interruptions.
Preventive maintenance is the answer to averting these plumbing horrors and it’s essential for keeping your water flowing and your systems functioning all winter long. Here’s how to protect your plumbing from the cold.
Regular Wintertime Plumbing Issues
Homeowners run into challenges during winter time that can be frustrating and expensive, from frozen pipes to clogged drains. These are some of the most common winter plumbing problems.
- Frozen Pipes: When the temperature drops, the water in your pipes can freeze. When this occurs, the water expands, which can create blockages in pipes and lead them to burst. Frozen pipes can block water flow and, if left to thaw inadvertently, create serious water damage. You might not even know there’s a problem until you turn on a tap and nothing comes out!
- Burst Pipes: If a frozen pipe thaws, the expanding ice can rupture the pipe. A burst pipe can cause significant water damage, flooding your home and leading to costly repairs. If they go undetected, a burst pipe can cause serious damage to your walls, floors and foundation. Then there’s the fact that wasting water can really drive up your utility bills.
- Drains Clogged During Winters: The winter months bring in more use of hot water for cooking and cleaning and washing. Oils, grease, and food scraps will harden in your pipes once they cool down, causing slow drains or completely blocked up pipes. That’s particularly the case after holiday meals when there’s a spike in grease and fat going down kitchen sinks. Letting clogs go could lead to nasty backups or bigger blockages.
- Water Heater Failure: Winter entails more showers, laundry and hot water use, and your water heater may not be able to keep up with increased demand.
- Septic Tank Failure: The decomposition process slows down during cold weather, which can lead to backups and overflow in your septic tank. If #4 is not addressed promptly, it can result in sewage backups in your yard or home.
- Defective Sump Pumps: When the temperatures drop, the discharge lines of sump pumps can become blocked, which means they will not run water out. That problem can lead to the flooding of basements, especially after snow or ice leaves the roof surface.
- Outdoor Faucet and Hose Troubles: Just like indoor ones, outdoor faucets need to be shut off, because if you leave water in the pipes it freezes and cracks. Not only is the damage serious, but it may reach the water supply lines that are connected to the faucet, causing leaks and higher repairs.
- Leaky pipes: Heating and cooling temperatures can make pipes expand and contract. Over time, this, in turn, stresses joints and seals, causing small leaks to widen and become more difficult to fix. What begins as a drip can become a deluge if left unchecked.
- Low water pressure: If your plumbing has frozen pipes or leaks, it can cause low water pressure throughout your home. You’ll see it in your shower or while filling a sink — maddening and inconvenient.
- Malfunctioning Garbage Disposals: With holiday cooking comes more waste in the garbage disposal, and if it’s cold outside, food scraps can start to solidify. Improper disposal not only includes dumping non-food items, but can also lead to jammed and busted disposal units.
Early detection is the key to avoiding these problems.
Black Plumbing is here to help you with routine maintenance and inspections so you can enjoy a worry-free winter. Don’t let matters get worse – call for an inspection today!
Winter Plumbing Tips
The good news is that the best way to avoid winter plumbing problems is to prevent them from happening in the first place.
Follow these easy, actionable tips to keep your plumbing from freezing up in the colder months.
- Keep Pipes from Freezing: Wrap exposed pipes with insulation in unheated spaces, such as your basement or attic. Since vulnerable pipes can be covered by foam pipe insulation, that works great as protection from the cold. During extreme cold weather, let your faucets drip a little. This keeps water flowing and reduces the pressure that can lead pipes to freeze and burst.
- Burst Pipe Prevention: Check pipes for leaks or weak spots before winter arrives, as those can quickly get worse if temperatures drop. Don’t forget to turn off and drain outdoor water lines to avoid freezing. A little bit of checking now can prevent a huge disaster later.
- Prevent Clogged Drains During Winter: When disposing of grease and food waste, always put fats or oils in a trash can instead of pouring them down the drain; these fats harden in cold weather. Use drain strainers in the kitchen and bathroom to catch debris like food scraps and strands of hair before they head down the drain. Taking this simple step can help you avoid big clogs.
- Stay on Top of Your Water Heater: Your water heater is working overtime through the winter, so show it a little extra love. If nothing else, flush the tank to remove sediment buildup, which can hamper efficiency. If you want to keep your machine running smooth and avoid breakdowns, schedule professional maintenance.
- Septic systems: In frigid weather, be conservative with water usage, to prevent overworking the septic system. Don’t park heavy vehicles over where the septic tank is located, as this can damage it and cause slow drainage or backups.
- Insulate or heat the discharge line of your pump to keep it from freezing. As well, test your sump pump before winter weather arrives to make sure it continuously works properly — this can help avert flooding if melting snow or ice accumulates.
- Winterize Outdoor Faucets: Disconnect hoses and drain outdoor faucets to avoid freezing. Insulate your faucets from the cold by putting faucet covers over them.
- Garbage Disposal Care: Run cold water whenever you use the disposal. It maintains smooth running of the motor and hardens grease so it can be cleaned more easily. Watch how much you load, and avoid fibrous or starchy foods, like potato peels, which can jam up the works.
- Plumbing Maintenance: Repairing your plumbing before you have a situation can save you time, stress, and money. Preventative plumbing maintenance involves checking on minor repairs and also servicing the more crucial elements of your plumbing system that can keep the whole thing up and running even as it is breaking down.
Consider professional maintenance to get your plumbing winter-ready.
Black Plumbing Heating and Air offers comprehensive plumbing repair and maintenance services designed to protect your home and keep things running smoothly.
Day & Night Plumbing – Plumbing Emergencies Prevention
When winter is knocking on your doors, you need a reliable team that can discover plumbing problems in winter climate in a jiffy.
For more than a decade, Day & Night Plumbing has prepared licensed and certified professionals to solve the unique challenges that winter plumbing problems can create.
Our affordable pricing promises satisfaction for all, and we are obsessed with quality and durability. We’re here to help your plumbing work deliciously all season long! And who better for our professionals to serve!
