It’s getting closer to winter here in Boerne, and that means getting your plumbing winterized. Without the right care, your water pipes can freeze and burst, leaving you with significant water damage. If water damage does occur — whether from freezing pipes or another cause like flooding or septic backup — our restoration experts are here for you. Keep our number close if you ever need water damage repair or water damage restoration. And if you’re interested in learn more about the services Broadshield Restoration offers our San Antonio community, visit our water damage restoration page.
Why Winterize?
Everyone knows that water expands when it freezes — just think about the time that you put a can of coke in the freezer as a kid and it exploded everywhere. Cleaning up sticky, frozen soda is way less of a problem than what happens when a frozen pipe cracks, spilling hundreds of gallons into your home and causing extensive water damage. Water damage is a complex problem, and if not treated quickly, can cause significant structural damage.
There are water pipes running throughout your home, and any one of them can crack without the right preparation. That’s why winterizing your pipes are so important. If you do find yourself in need of water damage repair, though, BroadSheild Restoration can help.
Follow these easy steps to prepare your pipes for winter.
Remove Hoses And Turn Off Outdoor Faucets
Find the shutoff valves for your outdoor faucets and remove any hoses you have attached to them. Once the hoses are removed, drain any remaining water from the faucet and at the bleeder cap on the shutoff valve. It’s very important to remember to bleed the pipe from the shutoff valve, because if you don’t drain the pipe completely, the remaining water can still freeze and crack.
Cover Hose Faucets
After you’ve removed hoses and turned off the outdoor faucets, you can cover them with insulated covers to prevent cold air from traveling up the pipes. And, conversely, to prevent heat from leaving your house through the exposed pipes. They provide an extra layer of protection and are easy to put on.
Insulate Pipes
If you have visible water pipes in your home in an unheated area — like a basement or crawl space — it’s a good idea to insulate them. Pipe insulation is relatively inexpensive, and we recommend running a heat cable along the pipe, wrapping the cable in fiberglass pipe insulation, and then containing the whole thing in plastic insulation wrap, which is pretty much cling wrap for pipes. While this can be a time-consuming process, it’s well worth it in the long run to prevent water damage and costly water damage repair.
Insulate Garage
Your garage may seem totally unrelated to the job of preparing your pipes for winter, but if you have water lines in the garage it’s really important to insulate the garage door. Your home is well-insulated, but the garage door is simply a barrier, with no insulating capacity. Not only will insulating the door protect you from water damage, it will also help with preventing heat loss through the garage. If we get a really cold patch here in Boerne, you can also put a space heater near the pipes.
Shut Off Water When You Go On Trips
If you’re leaving for a few days or more, it’s good to turn off your water and make sure you continue heating your home at 60 degrees or higher to prevent frozen pipes. If the pipes do freeze while you’re gone, though, shutting the water off at the source will prevent more significant water damage — and less water damage repair — than if you had left it on.
BroadShield Water Damage Restoration Specialists
At the end of the day, you know your home best! Use this blog to make a list of what needs to be done in your Boerne home to prepare for winter. While we do live in Texas, that doesn’t mean we don’t get some harsh winter weather!
If your pipes do freeze and burst this winter, know that Broadshield Restoration is here for you. Our restoration company has dealt with countless water damage restoration projects, and we’re here to help you through the entire process — including helping you with disaster insurance claims. You can turn to BroadShield Restoration for help. Our construction experts will help bring your home back to what it was before, as quickly as possible. We know that water damage repair needs to occur as quickly as possible, or it can turn into larger structural damage, like to your foundation. Keep our contact info close, and call us when disaster strikes — we’re here for you.
