How to Winterize Your Home

How to Winterize Your Home

Earlier this year, Baltimore experienced its coldest start to a year in 146 years with average temperatures of just 15.2 degrees1! With temperatures that low, your home’s plumbing system is left vulnerable to frozen and busted pipes if left unprotected.  Winterizing your home is a relatively cheap and easy task that can save you thousands of dollars of repairs and water cleanup. Follow these tips to ensure your plumbing is in good working order all winter long.

Insulate

Insulating indoor and outdoor pipes that are exposed to cold winter temperatures is one of the easiest ways to protect your home from winter plumbing problems. The foam pipe sleeves and heat tape needed for this task can be found at your local hardware store. Wrap all exposed pipes that run outside of the heated portion of your home. These pipes can be found primarily in attics, basements and garages.

Prepare Outdoor Faucets

Disconnect garden hoses and turn off water flow to your outdoor faucets if possible. This will ensure your faucets avoid water buildup that can freeze, expand and crack your indoor plumbing.

Keep Your Furnace Running

It may be tempting to turn off your furnace when leaving your home for prolonged periods of time in the winter months. But this practice leaves your plumbing especially susceptible to freezing temperatures. If you’re still looking to save money and energy, do not set your thermostat below 50 degrees to ensure your plumbing is kept warm enough to avoid costly bursts.

Water Heater Checkup

The last thing you want to have to worry about in the middle of a cold winter day is a broken water heater. No hot and warm water means your plumbing is especially prone to freezing and even bursting. Don’t wait for this costly repair to happen before having your water heater inspected by one of the plumbing professionals at Catons. We can complete a thorough inspection that looks for signs of leakage and the anode rods for corrosion. You experienced technician can even offer water heater replacements and professional installation if needed.

Do not hesitate to call or schedule service online with Catons for all your plumbing emergencies. Our licensed and insured plumbers are available 24/7 with no extra fees on nights, weekends and holidays for plumbing and drain service.

1The Baltimore Sun, January 11, 2018

Schedule a Service with Catons Today!