Winter Plumbing Problems And Their Solutions

Plumbing is an essential element of your residential property. Good plumbing is critical for your convenience and your safety too. Without adequate plumbing, you may find yourself time and again calling up a plumbing contractor for minor problems that can distract you from your daily routine.

Plumbing issues are more frequent during the winter. Due to this reason, it is better to be prepared in advance for any such problems to save yourself from trouble during foul winter weather. This article highlights some of the most common winter plumbing problems and their solutions.

Frozen Pipes

It is a common occurrence during the winter season for pipes to be frozen as they are exposed to freezing temperatures. Exterior pipes are more prone to freeze as they have little to no protection against the harsh winter conditions.

Since most of your pipes are installed underground, therefore, damage to water lines from freezing can often go unnoticed by you. It might only come to notice when it raises another cause for concern.

For example, flooded crawl spaces, weakened house foundations, and other structural damage to your property.

Solution

To save yourself from the trouble of frozen pipes during the winter season, you may want to make timely efforts to adequately winterize your pipes. Detach all water hoses attached to water taps and drain any remaining water. Coil them up and store them appropriately for the winters.

Also, make sure to drain the water taps of any remaining water present in the line and then close off their valve. This prevents water from freezing inside the line during colder temperatures.

Another easy solution for frozen pipes is to use pipe insulation. This creates a barrier between your pipes and the freezing temperatures outside and guards them against freezing.

Blocked Drains

Winter is associated with the festive season. Most families host and entertain quite frequently during this season. All this festivity could mean that you are using your kitchen more often than you otherwise would.

It often happens that with widespread kitchen usage, the drain of your kitchen can become clogged.

Solution

It is always a good idea to keep certain foods out of your garbage disposal at all times. Foods that are sticky or those that swell up in response to water are most likely to clog your kitchen drain.

Meat bones, pasta, rice, cooking oil, and vegetable and fruit peels should never be thrown in the garbage disposal. Always ensure that leftover food and any such thing that can potentially cause a clogged drain is thrown into the waste bin rather than the garbage disposal.

Pay special attention to your garbage disposal. Adopt practices like flushing it out after use and using specially designed cleaning tablets for garbage disposals to ensure your kitchen drain stays in good shape.

Collapsed Water Heating Systems

Since water heaters are used more frequently in the winter season than ever, your water heating system may break down when you most need it. That is the cold winter season.

When this happens, the best you can do is to call a professional water heater repair contractor. However, some other measures can be taken to prevent your water heater from misfiring.

Solution

Regularly clean your tank water heater to get rid of any debris and sediment deposited inside. Also, be careful about the condition of the pressure relief valve and ensure that it is functioning optimally.

Using a water heater blanket is a good option as it can significantly reduce the heat loss from your water heater.

By insulating the water heater inlet and outlet pipes, you can maintain an all-year-round hot water supply to your home. It can also fix the problem of frozen pipes during the winters and undue heat losses for the rest of the year.

Overflowing Sump Pumps

Sump pumps function in your property to drain out extra water from low-lying areas. But it is common in winters for these pumps to be frozen. This can lead to overflowing sump pumps as water is backed up as a result of heavy snowfall exceeding the capacity of the pump.

Solution

Insulating your water lines will help you out in several ways during the winter season. Ensure that the water keeps moving within your lines and does not freeze, as this can tamper with the functioning of your sump pump.

Cleaning your sump pump at regular intervals to remove any sedimentation and debris is beneficial for the smooth working of your pump all year round.

It is a good idea to examine the function of your sump pump by pouring some water into the pit and checking whether the float is activated. The pump should turn on automatically once the float is activated

Check that all systems of your sump pump are up and working; it can help you have a hassle-free winter season without having to worry about unexpected winter repairs.

Conclusion

Winter can take a toll on most systems of your residential property. Plumbing is no exception. The freezing temperatures are likely to leave your house plumbing in a poor state if you do not take timely measures to winterize it.

Keeping in mind the easy-to-apply solutions highlighted in this article can help you ease your way throughout winters as far as plumbing is concerned.