With fall right around the corner, now is the time to prepare your home’s plumbing system for the cold weather by going through and checking off some items from your plumbing maintenance to-do list. So, how exactly does the change in season affect your home’s plumbing?
First of all, the colder weather makes outdoor tasks impossible or unnecessarily difficult. For example, cleaning the leaves and gunk out of your gutters is not only unpleasant in the cold, but can be dangerous if you don’t wait for a dry day. The last thing you want is a broken bone and the pain and cost that comes along with it. Instead, take advantage of the dry, cool weather in the fall. While you are at it, take a quick inspection around your home and check for leaky faucets or cracked fixtures.
You
also want to remove any exposed pipe that may freeze over when winter comes
around. Properly insulating your pipes and keeping water out of your hoses is a
good way to reduce property damage that results from frozen, ruptured
pipelines. This is especially important to keep in mind before taking any long
vacations before winter hits.
It is also a great idea to turn off your home’s water valve and keep the thermostat at a decent level to prevent returning home to flooded basements and mildew.
While it may seem inconvenient to take preemptive action and spend the money for plumbing maintenance, it is far cheaper than paying for the cost of disaster cleanup when a pipe ruptures. There are a lot of extra chores that come along with the winter weather, so take the initiative and take care of these plumbing maintenance tasks in the fall weather rather than in the snow, making your life that much easier in the future!