Chill Out—Winterize Your Home

Big Bear Grizzly reporter Stephanie Thoth wrote a great story about winterizing a home, and she interviewed me as a source. This can probably answer most of your questions about how to prepare for freezing temperatures and stop your pipes from freezing. It's great to expand your mind, but your pipes? Not so much. 

Freezing Temps Can Be The Demise Of Water Lines

By Stephanie Thoth Reporter | Posted: Wednesday, January 9, 2013 5:33 pm

Big Bear Grizzly

When a pipe freezes it expands, which can cause a break.

With Arctic temperatures en route to Big Bear Valley, frozen pipes are a major concern.

“The first line of defense is a warm house,” Hamer Plumbing owner Jeff Hamer said. But if a home or business is unoccupied, lack of heat may be an issue.

Regardless if homeowners or renters have plastic, copper or galvanized pipes, if there is no water inside them, they will not freeze, Hamer said. Most Valley homes and businesses are equipped with plumbing built on slopes so that pipes can be drained. 

The standard setup includes a stop-and-waste valve in the front of the establishment. If the home or business will be unoccupied, the valve should be turned off to allow water to escape and drain on the cold-water side. The hot water side has its own drain. If a homeowner cannot find the valves, plumbers can locate them.

After drains have been opened via the main valves, faucets and shower valves must be turned on, and toilets flushed to vent the system. Then, Hamer suggests purchasing a one-gallon bottle of non-diluted antifreeze which can be poured down sink, shower and tub drains, and into the toilet bowl and tank. 

About one-quarter gallon of antifreeze should also be poured into the washing machine and dishwasher. Water pumps below the machines hold water and can break. Set washing machines to the spin cycle for approximately one minute, and dishwashers to the drain-only cycle.

Water heaters can be turned down to a vacation setting. The pilot will remain lit and keep water in the tank from freezing. Tankless water heaters have drains under them. Drains should be opened to allow water to escape.

Outdoor spas and hot tubs should be left on low settings, and never turned off for extended periods of time.

For occupied residences, frozen pipes should not occur. “If the home is warm, pipes won’t freeze,” Hamer said.

For problem areas inside the home that do not receive as much heat as other areas, there are options, Hamer said. Place an electric light in the vicinity of the pipes. The light bulb will generate enough heat to keep the pipes warm. The lamp can also be attached to a thermoactivated adapter plugged into an electrical socket, which turns the light on when the temperature drops below 35 degrees.

Heating and cooling systems should be checked before cold weather arrives as a preventative measure, and pipes can easily, quickly and inexpensively be winterized by a licensed plumber, Hamer said. Pipes can be insulated or heat taped, a process where an electrical cord is attached to water lines to keep the pipes warm and prevent freezing.

Garden hoses should be disconnected from outdoor faucets as well during winter months.

If pipes freeze, turn water off at the stop-and-waste valve immediately and contact a plumber. If the water is left on, pipes can rupture completely and cause flooding and damage.