Don’t let winter burst your bubble. Easy ways to shield your pipes

Anytime the temperatures drop below freezing, our pipes are at risk of bursting. The odds of having plumbing issues, without proper heating and insulation, increase significantly when the weather is below 20 degrees for several days. We’ve already felt negative temperatures this winter, and we can expect more cold weather this season. What are some tips homeowners can follow to preventing future headaches with plumbing? Steve Broome with Ace Hardware says there’s a handful of things to ensure insulation. Using heating tape wrapped around pipes to prevent cracks, door sweeps to reduce a cold draft entering the home, or even a faucet protector outside. “Maintaining temperature in your household is probably the most important part. Most heat loss in a home is in the walls. Insulating your windows and having the right R-Value of course in your siding,” Broome said. “If you’re proactive enough in the fall to fill in gaps, there’s outside air getting into your home, whether it’s through an outside faucet or things like that.” In most homes you’re gonna find PVC piping underneath your sink. Broome says you’re gonna want to make sure that those don’t crack from the freezing temperatures this winter season. “Those cold temperatures are going to sink, you know, right into your basement. I think basement pipes are probably the most common ones to break,” Broome said. “That’s usually the weak link on any kind of water line is the joints. Those are the ones that you want to insulate, like when people are putting heat tape on them and stuff, that’s usually where you want to go.” Broome added that being proactive with a plan for your pipes is the key to prevent plumbing problems. Having heat and insulation can ensure pipes don’t freeze. “Whether it’s having a program of a thermostat if you’re going to be away from home. Or like we mentioned with the heat tape and the insulation for the pipes.” Here are some other tips to keep your house secure and prevent plumbing problems: Keep indoor temperatures above 55°F Allow faucets on exterior walls to drip slowly during extreme cold Open cabinet doors under sinks for warm air circulation Disconnect and drain outdoor hoses Know where your main shutoff valve is for emergencies.