Common Winter Plumbing Issues

Winter is hard on plumbing. As temperatures drop, your pipes and plumbing system is increasingly vulnerable. Preparedness and knowledge are your first line of defense.

By far the most common issue. If water is trapped in your pipes during freezing temperatures, freezes and expands. With nowhere to go, it can burst your pipes.

Most vulnerable are uninsulated plumbing lines along your exterior walls and pipes in uninsulated areas. Exposed to colder temperatures, there is an increased likelihood of freezing when the temperatures fall too low. To prevent pipes bursting, it’s helpful to:

Let One Faucet Drip: During periods of extreme cold, let the one faucet drip that is furthest from the entry point of the water into your house.  This relieves pressure and helps prevent bursting pipes. A small drip will do. You can catch the water in a bowl and use it, so it doesn’t go to waste.

There are a lot of different ways to insulate pipes, from foam sleeves to heating tape, all of which are easy to install. Focus on your home’s most vulnerable pipes, the ones that are along exterior walls, as these are the ones closest to the cold outside.

Open up the cabinet doors under your sinks to exposed closed-off pipes. This exposure allows warm air from the home to circulate through the cabinets and helps prevent frozen lines or pipes bursting.

It’s no surprise that the plumbing outside your home is particularly susceptible to freezing temperatures. You can reduce the risk of damage with a few simple preparations prior to the cold arriving.

When sprinkler season ends, it’s a good time to have your pipes blown out. This process eliminates any water sitting in the lines, so it can’t freeze up in the winter. Once the pipes are cleared, shut off the valve that serves the outdoor spigot to prevent any more water or moisture from accumulating in the pipes.

Disconnect any hoses that are attached to your outdoor plumbing fixtures and bring them inside for the winter.

Insulate outdoor pipes the same way you insulate indoor pipes protect the lines that carry water to the outdoor spigots.

If a pipe bursts in your home from the freezing temperatures, it can create some pretty costly damage, so the sooner you can catch it, the better. If the pipes are frozen, you’ll tell right away from the lack of running water. You’ll need to call a licensed plumber to help thaw them out before they burst.

If you aren’t able to catch the pipes before they burst, there are some key signs to let you know that it’s happened, such as:

• Damp drywall
• Rings on ceilings
• Bubbling paint on the walls or ceiling
• Musty smells
• Banging, clanking, or whistling sounds

If you notice any of these issues around your home, call a plumbing professional immediately.

With the winter months comes the holiday season, and with the holidays, more guests potentially stay in or visit your home. This increased traffic leads to one of the most common winter plumbing issues: clogged drains.

The increased number of people in your home puts additional strain on the plumbing. With increased food waste going down the drains from holiday meals, more hair accumulating in the shower drains, and more toilet flushes, it can all add up to the potential for more drain clogs.

A clogged drain in your home, though frustrating, is an easy fix for a skilled plumber. If you’re thinking about saving money by using a liquid drain cleaner, don’t. These cleaners contain caustic chemicals that can make the problem worse.

If your drain is backed up, call in a professional to make sure it’s cleared correctly the first time. The only thing worse than a clogged drain is a damaged one, so don’t take any chances.

If multiple drains in your home are clogged, it’s not a coincidence. It’s likely a clog in your plumbing’s mainline that requires a professional plumber to fix.

If you’re expecting an influx of family and friends in your home during the holidays, you can also get ahead of the game by making sure your drains are ready for the additional strain. Professional drain cleaning is the best way to make sure your plumbing is clear prior to the increased workload.

Drain cleaning should be done annually to keep your pipes clear of grease build-up and debris, but if it’s been a while, or you feel the lines are due for a cleaning, call the pros to help avoid any unexpected plumbing problems this holiday season.

An increase in people staying in the home isn’t just hard on the pipes. It places an increased demand on your water heater as well. You may begin to notice that showers aren’t lasting as long as they used to or that it’s taking a lot longer for the water to heat up.

Problems with water heaters during the winter months aren’t uncommon, but that doesn’t make them any less frustrating.

You can avoid some of these issues by having your water heater serviced prior to the busy holiday season. A plumbing professional can help to eliminate any sediment build-up in the tank and inspect it for any signs of wear or damage that may become amplified with the upcoming increased usage.

Toilets also see an increase in usage during the holiday season, which means more chances for potential clogs. You can avoid some of these issues by making sure your guests know what’s safe to flush and what isn’t to help prevent clogs.

NEVER flush feminine hygiene products or “flushable wipes”. Even when products say they’re flushable, they really aren’t and can lead to sewer line clogs and back-ups.

Limit what goes down your toilets to waste and toilet paper as best you can with the increased traffic in your home.

If you do encounter a clog that a plunger or snake can’t fix, it’s time to call in a professional. Avoid the home remedies you see online such as hot water (which can shatter your toilet bowl) and drain cleaners, which can do more harm than good and are terrible for the environment.

A professional plumber can get the situation handled quickly and in a manner that’s safe for your plumbing system, your septic suystem, and the groundwater.

The role of your sump pump is to drain water in low areas away from your home. Snow can make it challenging for your sump pump to keep up, making sump pump trouble one of the most common issues for plumbing in winter.

In years where the snowfall is particularly heavy, your sump pump may not be able to keep up. As it becomes overwhelmed, the moisture builds up, causing backups as the water freezes.

If you’ve seen this before during periods of heavy rain or snow, you may already know that preventive measures are the best course of action. Call in a plumbing professional before the winter weather starts to clean and inspect the sump pump in your home.

A frozen sump pump doesn’t just quit working. It tries to keep doing its job, ultimately causing it to overheat and burn out. If your sump pump freezes during the winter months, call in a professional plumber immediately.