As the weather out there is pretty tough we have seen repeatedly in the last few days freezing pipe problems that have caused damage and some real headache and expense for homeowners. Below are a few tips to help you prevent a frozen pipe in your home or business and if you have any questions of need any help call QUEST Plumbing & Heating at: 201-399-2160 and we would be happy to stop by and help.
1. Look around the house for any hoses and faucets that might be dripping or leaking.
2. Water in exposed outdoor hoses or pipes will freeze and make your hose or pipe burst. If you have an interior shut off valve for an outdoor faucet or hose shut it off and empty the water by opening the external valve.
3. If your main shut off valve is located in an unfinished basement, you need to verify that the temperature in the area is not going to drop. If the main supply pipe will freeze, as a first step water will not come from
the taps or faucets in the house and later on the pipe will burst which will cause a lot of damage.
4. Regarding a main shut off valve, main shut off valves are rarely used, we have encountered situations from time to time where the home owner needs to shut off the valve and in case of emergency the valve was never used or moved for a few years and the result was that the valve was broken or started leaking. When the weather is a little more stable you should carefully test the main shut off valve just in case there is a leak and you have to shut off the main water valve immediately. The way to do that is to slowly turn off the water and turn it back on twice. If you feel that the valve is too hard to move, don’t touch it. Call us and let us handle it because you might create a big problem if the valve is stuck or rusty.
5. There are units that act as a local heater that are controlled by a thermostat that keep pipe temperatures stable in case the temperature drops outside. If you have water pipes in your basement, attic, and crawlspaces or if you ever experienced a problem with a certain pipe that is located in an external wall without proper insulation, you might need to have a professional help you protect the pipe. Those devices are available for a fairly low price and we help clients to solve freezing pipe problems many times by installing them.
For more information and additional help call QUEST Plumbing 24-7 at: 201-399-2160