Winterization
In an effort to conserve our valuable water resource, and save yourself costly water and plumbing bills resulting from broken pipes due to freezing temps, we suggest the following winterization steps before freezing temperatures become a daily event.
Be sure to close the flappers on all of your foundation vents, or purchase Styrofoam “plugs” from your favorite building center (take a vent measurement before you go shopping) and install them to keep the winds from blowing through your foundation and freezing your water pipes in your floor system. Make sure your floor insulation is up and held securely in your floor joist bays, and be sure that all of your hot and cold water lines, are covered by the insulation – you should not be able to see your water piping from your crawl space areas in a framed-up floor system – it should all be hidden by your floor insulation. If your insulation is “sagging” or has fallen down, you can re-suspend it with string or wire. Don’t compress the batts, just make sure it’s up in the joist bays where it should be.
If you have a modular or mobile home, be sure that your exposed piping is wrapped in insulation, whether it’s pipe sleeves or batts. Again, your building center can help you find the right product for the job. If you have a concrete-poured foundation or concrete block foundation, and have foundation vents, be sure to button them up with Styrofoam plugs, or close the flappers if that’s what you have.
Last, disconnect all your hoses from your outside faucets, hose bibs, and bury hydrants. A hose left connected to an outside faucet is a sure way to cause broken water lines in your house as well as ruining your garden hose. Even if you have frost-free hose bibs, it’s wise to install outside faucet protection as an extra measure.