Careful With Those Water Lines!

In keeping with the exterior faucet/Winter theme, you can never get enough warnings about keeping pipes from freezing.

As a home inspector, I often see plumbing in places where I worry about what will happen on those super cold nights, the ones where the mercury dips below 0 for several nights in a row.

Even if you live in a new house with frost proof faucets installed on the exterior, sometimes there are areas or rooms where temperatures can dip dangerously close to freezing.  Lots of new construction has laundry sinks in the garage, make sure those garage doors are closed at night and if this is your first winter in your new house, you may want to put a thermometer in the garage and check on it during those hard freeze nights.

A more common pipe freezing problem is when renovations place pipes in unheated areas.  A typical example is when a kitchen remodel moves the sink lines to the outside walls etc.  In a lot of older ranches and bungalows circa 40s and 50s there are little "bump outs" or soffits that overhang free space.  These locations are very susceptible to freezing pipes, if plumbing is installed.

Use common sense and caution this winter.  Keep an eye on those pipes, open cabinet doors beneath sinks when to circulate warm air if needed.  Heated pipe wrapping is also available if you identify a pipe that may freeze.  An ounce of protection ahead of the trouble can save thousands in flood damage.