Tag: dyi maintenance

How to Prevent Frozen Pipes

In chilly Alberta winters, water lines can freeze if frost is pushed below the waterline. The pipes in your home can also freeze due to extreme temperatures, wind chills, or furnace failures which result in no heat in your home. You should be familiar with how to prevent your pipes from freezing, and what to do in the unfortunate event that they do freeze.

5 Easy Steps To Prevent Your Pipes From Freezing

  • Never turn your furnace off! You should keep your home heated consistently throughout winter, even if you aren’t going to be home. You can get a smart thermostat that will notify you on your mobile device if the temperature in your home gets below a safe level, in the event that your furnace malfunctions while you are away. The majority of furnace failures happen during extreme cold snaps, which incidentally can result in frozen pipes if not dealt with right away.
  • Insulate your outdoor water lines. Wrap water lines near outdoor walls and hose bibs with insulation.
  • Turn off your outdoor hoses. In the fall you should ensure that your hoses are disconnected and the tap is turned completely off. Failure to do so can result in cracked hose bibs as the temperatures freeze and thaw, which can result in flooding in your basement.
  • Check your hot water tank. Ensure that it is in a room that is adequately heated. You should have your hot water tank inspected annually by a professional.
  • If you go away for vacation, turn your water off before you leave. Go into your utility room and find the main water line shut off and ensure it is off. Then open all the taps in your house to run the residual water out. This way, you will be better protected should the unfortunate event that your pipes freeze while you are away. But remember to leave your furnace on.

How to Check if Your Pipes are Frozen

  • If you have only a trickle of water, or no running water, coming from any of your faucets, you may have a frozen pipe.
  • If you see any frost on exposed pipes, it is quite possibly frozen.
  • If you see a bulge in any pipes, it may be frozen.
  • If your toilets don’t refill after flushing, you may have frozen pipes.

How to Fix Frozen Pipes

  • If you suspect your pipes are frozen, turn off the water line to that part of the house, or turn the main water line off.
  • Locate the frozen area. If you cannot locate it, call a plumber as soon as possible.
  • If you determine where the pipes are frozen, you can attempt to thaw it with a space heater or hairdryer, provided it is a narrow pipe. Once it is adequately thawed, you can turn your water back on and check for any leaks. If you notice any leaks or still have no water flow, turn your water line back off immediately, and call a professional plumbing company for assistance.

Most frozen pipes can be thawed, damage-free if caught in time. If you think a frozen pipe may have burst in your Edmonton home, call Always Plumbing and Heating. We provide emergency service 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Winterizing Your Cabin Or Camper Trailer

After Thanksgiving, it is usually time to close down your seasonal cabin, trailer or vacation house for the winter. One of the biggest issues is preventing your pipes from freezing during the off-season, which is a very common problem.

You should partially winterize any time the residence is not used full-time or when it will be left unoccupied for long stretches. You should completely winterize your seasonal cabin or trailer after Thanksgiving (or sooner if the weather is below freezing!) and continue until the middle of spring.

How to Winterize Your Cabin

You will need to go through a few steps to winterize your cabin or trailer. If you will not be parking a trailer in a covered, warm space, do follow these winterizing tips:

Water Heater – Drain the water from your hot water tank using the drain valve located at the bottom of the tank. Attach a garden hose to the valve and drain it into the nearest drain or outside. Turn the breaker off to the tank or turn off the gas valve, or both, depending on whether your tank is electric or gas.

Water Lines – Find the water supply lines for your cabin where they come into the foundation. These are typically copper or PVC lines coming from the ground. Locate the shutoff valve to these lines and turn off all water.

Faucets – Once the water is turned off, locate the lowest faucet on the property (preferably one on the exterior). Open that faucet and leave it open. If you do not have an exterior faucet, find a faucet at the lowest elevation point inside the cabin and turn it on.

Remove Water – Next, go through the cabin and turn every faucet to the on position and flush every toilet. This will eliminate as much water as possible from the system.

Antifreeze – Next, pour antifreeze into every drain of the cabin, including showers, sinks, and toilets. For RVs, you can use RV antifreeze, but for cabins, you must use regular antifreeze. RV antifreeze is diluted for water tanks.

Dishwasher – Close the dishwasher (if applicable) and let it run for a few seconds to pull any water from inside the supply lines. This will activate the solenoid for the dishwasher and prevent it from freezing or breaking during the winter.

Even when you follow all of these steps, you may not get all of the water drained from your cabin’s pipes. If you experience any breakage or pipe issues, Always Plumbing & Heating will be there to help.

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