Winter is upon us. That means holidays and spending quality time with family and friends. What is one of the biggest disasters a home owner can imagine happening in the cold weather? A very real and unpleasant event that may happen to any home owner wherever you live in the country is having the water mains and pipes in your house freeze over. Remedying the problem is an expensive and time consuming task. While you spend sleepless nights with no running water, your neighbors could be enjoying their Christmas and New Years’ holidays without a care in the world. Whatever the outside temperature, you may face this situation for three reasons: 1. Quick and unexpected drop in the temperature 2. Inadequate insulation 3. Thermostats in the house set too low Every year a quarter of a million households in the country face this worst case scenario of having their homes devastated by frozen or burst water pipes. These incidents could easily have been prevented altogether, if the home owner had taken some simple steps to safeguard water mains and pipes. Shoring up on the insulation is a key element in preventing the freezing of pipes and water mains. Consult a plumbing contractor to ensure your existing insulation is functional. Once your pipes burst, the repairs required could be costly and very extensive. When the mercury drops both plastic and metallic copper pipes can freeze and burst. A large crack in the pipe could flood your home in no time; causing structural damage and accelerating mold formation. The home owner can perform some basic and simple tasks to winter-proof your home and prevent pipes and water mains in your home freezing over: 1. Insulate the outer walls 2. Repair all broken windows. Keep all doors and windows opening to the outside tightly shut. 3. Shut vents and seal all leaks in crawl spaces and basement. If vents cannot be shut tightly, cover them up from the inside with cardboard or newspaper or plastic to prevent cold air entering and warm air escaping. 4. Detach all outside hoses and turn off outside faucets, drain out the water in the pipes outside. If you have found a frozen pipe, open up the nearest cold water faucet to it. This will reduce any pressure that might accumulate on the pipe and cause it to burst. Call a plumber if you are worried about large scale damage to pipes and water mains. Fairfax, VA residents can find professionals in the area that will prevent a major disaster happening in their homes. Water mains Fairfax, VA - If you are looking for contractors to repair burst water mains, Fairfax, VA residents can find help at hand at All Plumbing Inc. They provide quality water main repair & replacement service to get your home or business plumbing properly functioning again.
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