How To Prepare Your Plumbing For The Harsh Canadian Winter

As you already know, Canadian winters can be extremely harsh. The freezing cold temperatures are less than favorable, especially for homeowners. When winter comes around every year, you will need to consider the safety of your plumbing. The pipes can easily become frozen, causing them to not release any water or even bust. In order to adequately prepare your plumbing for winter, start the process in autumn. This will give you plenty of time to assure the safety of your plumbing before winter begins its wrath. Winterizing is an important process that should be done every single year, or major damages and issues may occur. These problems are usually extremely hard to fix during the winter, and may have to wait until summer if too much damage is caused. It is best to avoid any issues all together.

Cover Your Pipes

Cover your pipes with insulation foam. This foam can be purchased at any home improvement store. It is shaped like a cylinder to fit around the pipe snuggly. The slit in the foam piece makes it possible to get over the pipes. This insulation will prevent the pipes from freezing in cold temperatures. It will even make the hot water come quicker and therefore, less water is wasted trying to wait for it to heat up.

Inspect the Plumbing for Leaks

Leaky pipes can cause for a great deal of damage over the winter. In fact, even the smallest leak can be a huge detriment. A leak means that the water is being released from the pipe where it shouldn’t be. When the water freezes, the crack in which the water is leaking from will also freeze up and the pipe will more than likely burst from the pressure of the ice forming. Have a professional plumber correct any leaky pipes you may have throughout your home.

Remove All Hoses and Turn Off Outside Water Valves

Turn off any water valves to the outside. Also, remove any hoses or sprinkler systems that might be attached to the outdoor water valves. Obviously, these items are most likely to freeze considering they are outdoors during the winter. Make sure that you drain all hoses well before you wrap them up and put them in a warm garage or shed for the season.

Where Is Your Water Main?

Always know where your water main is. In case of an emergency, you can quickly go to the water main and shut it off. This will immediately shut off the water going to the entire home, as well as help minimize the possibility of damage if the pipes burst.