If you live in the locations in Georgia where winter can bring freezing temperatures for several days or weeks – then you will want to winterize your home’s plumbing to help prevent any damage to pipes as well as outdoor hose bibs.

Weatherizing your plumbing for the winter includes draining any outdoor pipes and hose bibs of water, insulating pipes that are exposed or in areas that are not insulated (i.e. garage, attic, etc.) and repairing any cracks found in your exterior walls / foundation.

How Do You Keep Pipes From Freezing In Your House?

If the weather report indicates that temperatures will hit 20 degrees fahrenheit or lower – this is your alert to take the following steps to keep your pipes from freezing and eventually bursting.

  • Keep your garage doors closed to retain as much heat as you can inside your garage.
  • Open the kitchen and bathroom cabinets (in case there are any pipes behind those cabinets).
  • Turn a faucet on so that water drips (leave it on while the temperature is 20 degrees or lower). This forces water to run through the pipes and helps to prevent sitting water from freezing.
  • Keep your thermostat at the same temperature during the day and night.
  • Any insulation that you can add to your home, in the walls, wrapping pipes, windows, cracks in doors, etc. will help to prevent your water pipes from bursting and creating an expensive mess.

Winterizing your home’s plumbing can save your pipes from possibly freezing and eventually bursting. As you can imagine – a burst pipe can cause damage not only to the pipe but to the immediate area and all the contents in that area.

The expenses to repair a burst pipe could then include:

  • repairing the pipe
  • repairing the drywall (if the pipe is behind the drywall)
  • repairing the concrete slab (if the pipe is in the concrete slab)
  • repairing any flooring damaged by the water from the burst pipe
  • repairing any furniture and other items damaged by the water from the burst pipe

So – go ahead and winterize your home – we promise you – it will be well worth it.

How Do I Cover My Pipes For Winter?

So, we’ve mentioned a few times about the importance of insulating your pipes for the winter, but what do you use, how do you cover your pipes?

There are a few ways you can cover your pipes and you can certainly use a combination of these, instead of just one method.

  • We recommend to use insulation tubes that are made of polyethylene or fiberglass and to use tubes that are as thick as possible.
  • You can also use heat tape to wrap your pipes.
  • For outdoor hose bibs we recommend draining them and then covering them with any of the products available for this purpose.
  • You may want to replace your outdoor hose bib with a frost proof model.

Although winterizing your plumbing may take a little bit of work – it’s just a small task that can end up saving you a lot of headache and money.

If you have any questions about weatherizing your plumbing, call Atlantis Plumbing today at 770-443-8229. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.