Brrrr! Hey Myrtle Beach, Cool Cat here to bring you some hot tips to keep your plumbing flowing with the big chill going on out there! When temperatures drop here, it can get cold enough to freeze your tail off – which means your pipes and plumbing are at risk for a freeze-up too. Frozen pipes can expand and burst causing a major plumbing emergency. That’s not coooooool… Here’s how to winterize your plumbing:
1. Disconnect and store garden hoses for the season. Water trapped inside hoses can freeze up and expand, causing connected faucets and pipes to freeze up too. Whatcha going to need to water out there in the cold? Save yourself some major cabbage and big-time headaches and stow the hoses.
2. Some extra protection against frozen outdoor plumbing lines would be cooooool, right? If you have shut-off valves for your outdoor faucets and plumbing lines to sprinklers and so on, turn those valves off and then drain any remaining water from your outdoor lines. Don’t have shut-off valves for your outdoor water lines? Call the cats at Carolina Cool about getting hooked up.
3. Leaks are a plumbing 911 no matter how small they might seem. Check faucets and under cabinets or around other plumbing to search for moisture that shouldn’t be there. The 411 on leaks is they go from being a tiny drip to being a major leak or flood faster than you can say “tuna melt on rye”. Add in whisker-chilling temps and you have a recipe for an expensive disaster.
4. Pay some attention to your hot water heater. Here in the Strand, most of us have hard water with lots of minerals and sediment that can build up in your hot water heater. This gunks up your tank but also can cause it to rust and leak more easily. While you can drain your hot water heater and try to get the sediment out, nothing beats a professional clean-out and servicing from the pros at Carolina Cool. And even better, they can check for signs of potential problems and get things fixed up for you before you have a major water heater malfunction.
5. Wrap your pipes! Un-insulated pipes are more vulnerable to freeze-ups, particularly pipes along outer walls, in cool spaces like garages, or in basements. Your local home improvement store should carry insulation tubing for pipes that has a cut along one side. Just trim to the right length and secure and seal with duct tape. If you can see a pipe, it could probably use a nice wrap to keep it protected from the chilly temps.
These few easy tips can be a big help in preventing a plumbing freeze-up. If you do have a plumbing emergency, the cats at Carolina Cool are just a phone call away.
