Frozen Pipes!
Here’s What to Do
There’s no escaping the cold in Bristol County during the winter. And winter poses a few threats to your home. One of those is having your pipes freeze and possibly burst. That’s a serious problem that may require professional intervention, and W.H. Riley is here to help. Our team of plumbers has a vast amount of expertise and can handle any job. So if you find yourself with frozen pipes this winter or have any other plumbing emergency, W.H. Riley & Son is up to the job.
Tips for Preventing Frozen Pipes
The weather is beyond your control. You can’t make it a milder winter. But there are some straightforward things you can do to make it less likely that your pipes will freeze. Here are some things to do this winter to help protect your pipes:
- Always have fuel. If your heating system doesn’t have the fuel it needs, it will stop running and leave you with a cold house. In addition to putting the health and safety of your family at risk, having a heatless house on a cold winter day can leave you with frozen pipes. So making sure you always have enough fuel is a really important way to avoid frozen pipes. W.H. Riley & Son offers both our heating oil and propane customers an automatic delivery service that virtually eliminates the chance you’ll have a run-out.
- Use a whole-house generator. We’ve already seen regions on the East Coast get hit with record-breaking winter storms that left whole neighborhoods without power. Unfortunately, a power outage like that can leave vulnerable homes with frozen or burst pipes. A whole-house generator can make a big difference during a power outage. Whole-house generators kick in within seconds of a power outage and keep everything you want running in your home powered up. That means that even if there’s a blackout while you’re sleeping or away on vacation, everything in your home will continue to function as it should. That includes your heating system. Keeping your home sufficiently heated is a big part of preventing frozen pipes.
- Drain Seasonal Pipes & Hoses. You’ll want to consider the pipes and hoses outside of your home as well as the ones inside of it. Hopefully, you prepared all of your seasonal pipes and hoses for the winter before the first chill. That includes pipes for your swimming pool and sprinkler system and any hoses connected to the exterior of your house.
- Insulate your home. The better insulated your home is, the better it will retain heat. Adding insulation to your home won’t just help keep your pipes warm enough not to freeze, it will also make your home more energy efficient and save you some money on your energy bills.
- Open your cabinets. Keeping your kitchen and bathroom cabinets open will help the warm air in your home circulate around any exposed pipes so they stay warmer.
- Set your thermostat. A lot of our tips for preventing frozen pipes really boil down to keeping your home warm enough. We recommend setting your thermostat no lower than 55 degrees Fahrenheit. If your boiler or furnace starts showing signs of problems, call W.H. Riley for service. Our trained and certified service technicians have the expertise and experience to troubleshoot your heating system problem and provide any necessary repairs.
- Keep some water running. When the temperature is expected to drop particularly low, it can help to keep a small amount of cold water running from your faucets. Running water doesn’t freeze as easily as standing water.
Whether you need installation, repairs, or maintenance, W.H. Riley is here to handle your plumbing needs. We’re a full-service plumbing company.
You Can Count on W.H. Riley
You can count on the plumbing professionals at W.H. Riley. We do quality work. And we never cut corners.
If you need residential or commercial plumbing services in Southeastern Massachusetts, contact W.H. Riley & Son today.