Asheville Plumbing Tips & Articles

Whether you’re excited or fretting over winter’s arrival, the reality is that it’s just around the corner. Now is the perfect time to start prepping your home for the colder temperatures to come. During North Carolina winters, frozen pipes are a serious risk that Asheville homeowners need to be concerned about.

When the temperature is low, any water that’s sitting in your pipes can easily freeze solid, exerting thousands of pounds of pressure as the solid water expands. This can easily burst your pipes, causing thousands of dollars of damage. The pipes in your home that are most likely to freeze in the winter are located in unheated areas like garages and crawl spaces, as well as locations that are up against an outside wall. Fortunately, you can protect your pipes from freezing and avoid costly damage. Here are some ways to help prevent frozen pipes.

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How to Prevent Frozen Pipes

Here are some steps that you can take to prevent frozen pipes in your Asheville home during the winter.

• Keep your garage door closed in the winter. By keeping your garage door closed whenever possible, you’ll keep the garage interior warmer and prevent water in the pipes inside from freezing into ice.
• Temporarily seal off crawl space vents near the foundation. This insulating measure will help keep temperatures up in the crawlspace, lowering the probability of a frozen pipe.
• Keep your furnace or heater running at night. Turning down the heat at night can save money, but any money you’ll save by doing so will pale in comparison to the money you’ll lose if you need repairs for a burst pipe. It’s worth the money to keep your home heated to at least 55 degrees Fahrenheit at all times.
• Run your furnace or heater when you’re not at home. Keep your home at 55 degrees or higher, even when you and your family are gone during the day. Again, keeping your home heated will prevent frozen pipes.
• Turn off your main water valve when you’re out of town. If you’re going to be out of time for a few days or weeks during the winter, go ahead and shut off your main water valve to avoid frozen pipes.
• Cover your outside hose bibs. Also, drain out any garden hoses and bring them inside.
• Drain your sprinklers and swimming pools and never try to use antifreeze in these or any household areas.

If you have any questions or concerns about your plumbing system this upcoming winter, please do not hesitate to call Four Seasons Plumbing. We serve Asheville and surrounding areas with reliable service 24/7. Give us a call at 828-216-3894 or complete our online request form.