When winter hits Alberta, it can hit your pipes especially hard. There are few things more frustrating for a property owner than trying to use a sink, just to find that only a trickle leaks out—if anything comes out at all. But even this is preferable to costly damage resulting from pipes that burst outright, damaging your property and making for difficult, annoying repair work.
Pipes burst most often when the liquid contents inside freeze, expanding to take up more space than is available. Prevention and most especially preventive maintenance are key to helping your pipes last the long winter months.
Insulate Your Pipes
Your property’s walls aren’t the only components that need to be insulated. Pipes can be insulated, too. They’re most prone to freezing the closer they are to your property’s exterior, particularly those in garages and attics. However, even pipes closer to your property’s core need to be protected.
The most straightforward way to insulate your pipes is to use foam-rubber pipe insulation, which fits easily over most standard copper plumbing pipes. This insulation is generally hassle-free, install-and-forget simple, and relatively inexpensive. Additionally, make sure that your property’s interior temperature never falls below 55 degrees Fahrenheit, and ideally never below 68 degrees. This is especially important if you plan on being away from your property for an extended period in winter.
However, ensuring that your pipes are kept warm is only one part of maintenance that needs to be performed to make sure that your plumbing is working properly.
Bleeding Your Pipes
If water spits or sputters as it comes out of your faucet or showerhead and is accompanied by loud noises from inside your walls, it may well be a sign that your property’s plumbing contains air bubbles. Although typically not detrimental to your plumbing, water fixtures that don’t function properly are annoying at the best of times.
The solution is to “bleed” your property’s pipes. This is done by working every fixture your property has, opening both the hot and cold lines for a few minutes at each fixture. Repeat this process for every water-based appliance in your building, including toilets, dishwashers, and washing machines. Leave the fixtures on until the water flow stops sputtering, then close all of them in the same order they were opened. This should purge any trapped air in your plumbing.
If you keep your pipes insulated, warm, and take care of any air pockets that occur, then your plumbing will last you through the winter months and many years beyond. For more information on insulating your pipes and keeping your plumbing in prime condition, give us a call at 403-242-1357 or come visit us today!
