Showing posts with label winter-proofing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label winter-proofing. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Protect Your Home This Winter Travel Season
Keep Old Man Winter at Bay When You're Away!Though winter is not usually an in-demand travel season, many of us do head out of town during the coldest months of the year. From snow birds and holiday travelers to skiers and warm weather enthusiasts, there are plenty of people looking for ways to relieve those deep winter blues by getting out of Dodge!
If you will be spending time away from home this winter, be sure to take precautions to ensure your home is ready for your extended absence. The following winterizing tips will help secure your home and prevent costly damage to your plumbing, HVAC system, interior and exterior while you are away.
Choose Temperature Wisely
You may be thinking you will save money on utilities while you are gone, but if you leave your home’s thermostat off or set too low you could come back to a major – and expensive – problem. Frozen pipes will burst, which can ruin your home’s plumbing and flood the house. Even if you live in an area that doesn’t get much snow or ice, it is still a good idea to set your thermostat no lower than 55 degrees. You will still save some money on energy costs, but your house will stay warm enough to keep your pipes from freezing.
Prepare Plumbing
Any kind of pipes can freeze and burst under the stress of neglect or frigid winter temperatures. No matter how cold it gets at your house, preparing your plumbing is essential.
Frozen pipes aren’t the only wintertime plumbing threat. Any crack or leak in the pipes could let in water that can cause significant damage to your home and personal property. If you are leaving your home for more than three weeks, it is best to have your water shut off completely and to drain the water lines. Insulate exposed pipes with pipe insulation available at most hardware stores.
Weather the Storm
For many of us, winter brings the harshest weather: heavy snows, ice, freezing rain, high winds, and sub-zero temperatures. A sudden winter storm while you are gone can wreak havoc on your house. Plan ahead and remove some of the risk factors from around your home and yard.
Secure outdoor furniture, grills, toys, garden equipment or lawn care supplies. Tie them down or put them in a garage or shed where they won’t be affected by bad weather.
Trim dead branches from trees and shrubs, especially where these limbs come close to your home or car.
Securely close and lock windows and skylights to prevent snow and ice from coming in.
Get the Lived-In Look
A great way to protect your home from would-be intruders is to make it look like you are still there. Set your holiday decorations and lights with timers, which you will find wherever you purchase holiday lighting. You might even want to put things like a few interior lights, the television, a radio or your computer on automatic timers.
Arrange for a neighbor to come over to clear walkways if it snows and to collect your mail. If you can get someone to check on your house every few days you can also dramatically reduce your risk of being victimized by a home invasion, or suffering major damage from frozen pipes.
Related Information from Horizon Services...
Monday, January 3, 2011
Old Man Winter and Your Plumbing
Don't Get Left in the Cold with a Plumbing Emergency!It's a new year. Winter has officially arrived. Already, most of the nation has experienced has experienced an episode or two of nasty winter weather...including cold temperatures. Unfortunately, winter is also the time when your home is most prone to plumbing problems -- both routine and outright disasters.
Most of the more serious winter plumbing problems -- like cracked, burst and frozen pipes -- should be left to the plumbing experts. But as homeowners, there are plenty of things we can do ourselves to prevent these plumbing mishaps and to ensure that our home plumbing systems work as efficiently as possible all winter long. A regular round of checks and some preventive steps can be easily carried out to help maintain the long-term optimal working of your plumbing system and save on costly plumbing repair bills.
It's Always Wise to Winterize!
If you didn't do it before winter arrived, make sure now that any outside hoses are disconnected from faucets and and outside pipes turned off and drained, as water in them will freeze and expand. This will cause pipes and fittings to crack and burst. This can lead to serious leaks and even flooding. This can happen to plastic as well as metal pipes.
This shut-down of external pipes can be made easier if your home has shut-off valves installed, which will close them down and drain the water off. Once effectively disconnected, the exterior faucets can then be protected from the cold weather with lagging.
If you have pipes situated in areas of the home that are not heated, such as garages, these can be insulated from temperature extremes using heat tape or insulating sleeves available at most hardware stores.
To increase energy efficiency, seal doors and windows from drafts using materials you can buy in any home centers. This will keep warm air inside your home, adding a few degrees of warmth to your pipes and fixtures.
Check your water heater, which has an extra burden placed on it during cold months, flushing it out to get rid of any build-up of sediments, as these cause corrosion and greatly effect efficiency and longevity of the unit. Drain off a few gallons using the faucet situated near the base of the unit. Also check the pressure release valve, which should snap smartly back into place when lifted after allowing a spurt of water to the drain. If it is slack, get somebody in to replace it.
The water heater’s thermostatic control should be set according to the season. In winter you’ll want optimum performance, of course, at about 120 degrees Fahrenheit. You may also have to clean debris such as dead leaves from around the downspouts to allow for better drainage after the coming thaw.
It's important to prevent ice build-up in your pipes during the winter. Try not to let any sink, tub or toilet go idle for too long. Be sure to use as many fixtures as regularly as you can so water doesn't accumulate in one place and freeze. One good idea to make sure that water keeps flowing throughout your pipes is to leave faucets on at a very slow trickle...especially at night when temperatures can take a sudden plunge.
Going on a winter vacation or plan to be out of the house for an extended length of time? It’s a good idea to close the main water valve and then open the faucets at the top and base of the house to drain the system, keeping the heat on as you do so.
You need only a very basic set of tools to maintain your home plumbing system this winter. A pipe wrench is probably the most important, enabling you to get a good grip on pipes and fittings. A pair of pliers will help you to adjust nuts and bolts, but these can damage fittings if you slip up, so get some smooth sleeves to fit. These tools are fine for the small maintenance jobs you’re likely to be carrying out, but for bigger home plumbing jobs it’s best to get the professionals in, otherwise things could take a turn for the worse.
Related Plumbing Information from Horizon Services...
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