It is common for water pipes to freeze in winters. A frozen pipe generates much pressure inside and that can make it burst or develop cracks. A burst pipe leads to serious flooding, which worsens when there’s no one to cut off the water supply. In such a case, you can hire the burst pipe repair services in Hammersmith to deal with the issue. Another reliable way to prevent pipes from being frozen is to keep them warm enough, suggest qualified plumbing experts in Fulham. Here’re few tried and tested procedures to help achieve your objective easily.

Turn the heat on

If your home is going to remain empty for a long period of time, do leave the heating on. Landlords may find it difficult to convince tenants to leave their heat on while away from home. In such cases, try explaining to them how heat prevents pipes from being frozen and frozen pipes usually burst to lead to water damage to their home and property.

It is not necessary to keep the heat as high as while someone is indoors. You can leave it at 50 degrees F and that is sufficient to prevent the water inside the pipes from freezing.

Allow faucet dripping

If you assume a particular pipe may freeze, leave the faucet connected to it slightly open. As the water drips slowly, the system gets relieved of the pressure build-up. Finally, your pipe gets protection from bursting. In fact, if the faucet is fed by both cold and hot water pipes, leave both the taps slightly open.

Leave open the interior doors

Plumbing pipes are usually located inside cabinets. When the temperature goes down, leave the cabinet doors open. Thus, heat from the rest of your indoors can keep the pipes warm and prevent from freezing. It is also a good idea to leave all the interior doors open. This allows better and easy circulation of heat across your home. 

Fill up every crack and hole

Make use of caulk or spray foam insulation to seal cracks and gaps on the walls where pipes run through them. If it is feasible, block those holes from both interior and exterior. Seal any hole or gap on the floor as well. The cabinet compartments usually remain cool anyway. Chilled air from outdoors gets into your interiors through those holes and can make those compartments even cooler.

Use of heating tape

 Heating tapes are just like electric blankets for your water pipes. The tapes directly provide heat to the pipes and keep them warm. Consider applying heat tapes to a small section of a pipe that has the maximum chance of freezing. Heating tapes are available in two varieties.

• One automatically turns itself on and off sensing the environment condition.
• The other variety has to be plugged in when the heat is required and again switch off when no more heat is needed.

However, heating tapes can potentially be dangerous. You have to be cautious using it.

Extra insulation is always welcome

Plumbing pipes normally run through places that are not properly insulated, like attics and basements. Emergency plumber Hammersmith thus suggest adding extra insulation to the pipes to prevent them from freezing. Fitting an extra layer of foam rubber or fibreglass sleeve is a good way to insulate them additionally. An extra insulating layer is crucial for pipes that require bringing down walls, floors and ceilings to get access.

Follow these simple tips and keep your plumbing pipes safe from freezing in winters.