During the winter, homes with properly insulated pipes are less likely to experience frozen pipes. Frozen pipes can cause thousands of dollars worth of damage to a home’s plumbing system and can even be dangerous.
Thankfully, there are some simple ways to help prevent your drainage system from freezing, including adding insulation around all exposed soil around your house’s foundation and wrapping exposed pipes with foam pipe insulation or pipe sleeves.
Here are some promising ways you can save your pipes from freezing in winter.
Get a thermal blanket for your pipes
If you have pipes that are exposed to the elements, put a thermal blanket on them. These blankets are made of heat-reflective material that helps keep your water from freezing. They can be purchased at any hardware store and usually come in different sizes to fit your needs–you don’t need to cover every inch of pipe!
If you think this sounds like something impossible, consider that many cities around the world use thermal blankets on their main water lines during winter months (and in other places where temperatures drop below freezing regularly).
Here are some of the most crucial steps in the process:
- Wrap each pipe segment with foam pipe insulation; this should take care of most exposed sections unless there’s an unusual configuration somewhere along its length (e.g. if there’s just one long piece instead of several shorter ones). You could also wrap dirt around some parts if they’re buried underground but still exposed enough for ice buildup problems; just make sure whatever method you choose doesn’t interfere with drainage patterns or cause clogs later down the line.
- To do both steps above efficiently without wasting time trying different methods until finding one that works best (which may take days), buy extra rolls so multiple people can work simultaneously without waiting too long between turns.
Wrap pipes with foam pipe insulation or pipe sleeves
Foam pipe insulation is an effective way to keep your plumbing system warm and safe during the winter months. It can be installed on any exposed pipes that are located outside your home, such as those that run through the attic or crawlspace.
If you have a basement, consider installing foam pipe insulation around all of your drains and vents so they don’t freeze over during cold weather conditions. Foam pipe insulation works by creating an air pocket around each piece of metal piping within a structure’s walls or flooring, which helps prevent condensation from forming inside these areas; this prevents moisture from entering into contact with any electrical elements (such as heating coils) located within them as well!
Pipe sleeves are another popular choice among homeowners who want extra protection against freezing temperatures–but only if they’re willing to spend some money upfront: You’ll need upfront costs ranging anywhere from twenty dollars per foot depending on whether you want PVC versus ABS models made out specifically designed especially suited towards insulating residential homes against external forces like wind chill factor caused by outside temperatures dropping below zero degrees Celsius overnight.
Insulate the dirt around your pipes
Insulating the dirt around your pipes is one of the best ways to prevent them from freezing. You should use insulation that is at least 2 inches thick, such as foam pipe insulation or pipe sleeves. If you don’t have enough room for this type of insulation, try using a thermal blanket instead; it’s less bulky than other options and still very effective at keeping heat in or out of your pipes’ immediate proximity.
If you’re worried about how much water will be used during winter months–and whether or not this will affect your monthly bills–consider having an emergency number handy just in case something goes wrong with your plumbing system while temperatures are low outside (or even inside). A drip loop also helps prevent freezing by allowing excess moisture to run down into nearby soil rather than pooling up around an exposed pipe’s surface area until it freezes solid overnight!
Opt for a drip loop in your plumbing system
A drip loop is a pipe that connects to the main drain pipe. The water in the drip loop will drip out of the faucet, which prevents it from freezing in your drainpipe during cold weather.
If you have a drainpipe in your home and want to prevent it from freezing, put a drip loop on it! You can make one by attaching a length of pipe with an elbow joint at its end and then attaching another length of pipe with another elbow joint at its end–this will create two “legs” sticking out from under your sink or bathtub.
Next, attach two more lengths of pipe; these should be long enough so that when they’re laid flat on top of each other (with their open ends facing up) they’ll reach down into whatever room holds said sink/bathtub–this will form an upside-down V shape when viewed from above:
Protecting your home’s drainage system during winter can be costly, but there are some simple ways to help keep it from freezing.
- The most common way to protect your pipes is by insulating them.
- Insulation is available at most hardware stores, and you can also find it online.
- It’s important to make sure that you get the right kind of insulation for each type of pipe in your home’s drainage system: if there are several different types of pipes in one area (such as hot water and sewer lines), then it would be unwise to use just one type of insulation on all of them–you may need multiple kinds!
In a nutshell
It’s important to keep your home’s pipes from freezing during the winter, but the cost of this can be high. Luckily, there are some simple ways to protect your plumbing system from freezing temperatures. You can make sure that any exposed pipes have insulation or sleeves on them so they don’t get exposed directly to cold air. You should also consider getting an exterior wall of pine sheathing added onto your house so that it will keep out any cold air from coming into contact with these pipes inside of walls where insulation may not reach easily enough otherwise
Don’t let frozen pipes ruin your winter! Contact Molesey Drainage Services for expert pipe insulation and freezing prevention services. Ensure your home’s plumbing stays warm and functional – schedule an inspection now!