Winterizing Your Home – Avoid Frozen Pipes

Winterizing Your Home - Frozen Pipes - Cross Plains WI - Middleton - Sauk Plains Plumbing
Winterizing your home will help you avoid frozen pipes by using pipe insulation and other maintenance techniques

When winterizing your home in Wisconsin, we know there will be one constant – the temperature will be below freezing for an extended period of time.

As winter approaches, now is a good time to prepare your home’s plumbing to avoid frozen pipes or other problems. Pipe insulation, disconnecting hoses, turning water off and other steps help protect your plumbing and keep your home in tip top shape.

Why Oversights Happen When Winterizing Your Home

When you are winterizing your home it is easy to forget about plumbing when there is so much to do with the yard, raking leaves, cleaning gutters etc. However, neglecting your plumbing can lead to frozen pipes and even bursting pipes, causing water damage to walls, floors and furniture. Water damage can add up to thousands of dollars quickly, so winterizing your home and its plumbing is very important.

Five Steps For A Good Start Winterizing Your Home

  1. The Main Water Shut Off – be sure everyone in your home knows where the main water shut off valve is. Also be sure they know how to shut OFF the water when you have frozen pipes. The shutoff valve is usually located near the water meter. In some cases, it can be located near the furnace. The bottom line is time is money when it comes to water damage. The quicker you can shut off your main valve, the less water damage will occur when dealing with frozen pipes.
  2. Outdoor Faucets – always remove and drain your water hoses. Store them indoors before the first freeze. Turn off the outdoor faucets. It is a good idea to shut off their water supply. Covering the outdoor faucets further protects your pipes.
  3. Fix All Leaks – by inspecting your pipes and fixing leaks before the temperatures get low, you can avoid having frozen pipes.
  4. Protect Sprinklers – Use an air compressor to blow all water from your sprinkler system. Assuming you have an air compressor – this is easy and free and should be a standard part of winterizing your home.
  5. Clean Gutters – Standing water will freeze and can damage your eaves, roof and more. Keeping your gutters clean to avoid related damage is another piece of winterizing your home.
  6. Pipe Insulation – Insulate pipes in unheated areas of your home. This is especially important for mobile homes. Hardware store and home center will have heat tape or pipe insulation. Pipe insulation can mean the difference between no problems and frozen pipes. Protecting these pipes is the MOST important thing you can do when winterizing your home.
  7. Water Heater Tune up – Best practices dictate draining and maintaining your water heater annually in the fall. You can do it yourself, but if you want assistance, give us a call.
  8. Furnace Service – Have clean filters and call a pro get your furnace ready for winter. No heat means frozen pipes and lots of expense when the melting begins.
  9. Are You Selling Your Home Or Heading South For The Winter? Winterizing your home will never be more important. If that is the case, shut off the water completely and drain your pipes. Call Sauk Plains Plumbing and Pumps to be sure your pipes are drained completely. Water left in the system is a risk for freezing. Frozen pipes in your absence could be a disaster. Winterizing your home is crucial in this situation.
  10. Be Neighborly – Print and share this information with your neighbor(s). If you have an elderly neighbor, see if they might need help. Winterizing your home and helping them is a great favor when someone has physical challenges or is able but does not know how to do things.

Call Sauk Plains Plumbing & Pumps – If you have concerns, contact us for help.  We will gladly be of service winterizing your home.

Winterizing your home is an important maintenance step. Sauk Plains Plumbing and Pumps are experts at pipe insulation to avoid frozen pipes as well as all other plumbing maintenance. We serve Cross Plains WI and western Dane County including Middleton, Waunakee, Black Earth, Verona and Fitchburg WI, and can help you gain peace of mind by installing a walk in tub to fit your needs.

Give our expert plumbers a call at 608-798-2121 or email to get the details on winterizing your home in Cross Plains or Middleton WI.

Thawing Frozen Pipes

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