Most Oakville homes have an outside faucet so they can water the grass and gardens in the summer months. Once the colder weather gets here, though, outdoor plumbing can be a significant problem as pipes will freeze in the winter and burst. With these simple tasks, any Oakville homeowner can winterize their outdoor plumbing to prepare for winter.
Check for leaks
Even the tiniest leak can become a major problem when the cold weather comes. Freezing and thawing causes water to contract and expand, which over time can damage and even burst pipes.
If you have any small leaks in the plumbing outdoors, one full cold season could make that into a bigger leak and cause issues for your home and its foundation. Take a few moments to inspect the taps and hoses on the outside of your home to see if there are any leaks you can spot. If you find any leaks, you may need to call a plumber to have them fixed – either before the winter or when the spring comes (depending on severity).
Shut off the outside water supply
Do you know where the outdoor shut-off valves are for your home? If you don’t, now would be a great time to find out. Turning off the water to the outer part of your home during the cold weather can go a long way to preventing any issues and ensuring water is not leaking into your home through cracked hoses or even the foundation.
Take a few moments before the cold weather gets here and find where the shut-offs are for your outdoor plumbing, and make sure all of them are shut to the off position.
Close off garage doors and crawl spaces
Pipes in garages and crawl spaces may not have as much insulation as the other pipes in your home. This means that if the frigid temperatures get into these areas of your home, it could lead to the pipes in those areas freezing. Frozen pipes can cause major flooding when they burst, especially as they start to thaw and expand again.
Making sure that you close off these spaces and keep the doors closed during the winter can help stop pipes from freezing, and that will save you a lot of issues in the future.
Disconnect hoses from the tap
During the summer, we leave the garden hoses outside as we will continue to use them. However, when the colder weather comes, it’s important to disconnect the hoses from the tap. This will allow any water in the spigot to drain out, which means it won’t freeze in the hose and damage the hose.
Take a few moments before winter comes to Oakville, disconnect any hoses outside your home from the taps and let any excess water drain out, so it isn’t sitting in there over the winter.
Contact McKenna Plumbing today
If you are experiencing any problems with the plumbing in your Oakville home, it is best to have them addressed before they become bigger issues. Contact us today if you require a plumber.