Most Common Winter Plumbing Issues

Winter comes with a lot of difficulties when it comes to plumbing. Plumbing throughout your home is exposed to many risks whenever it gets cold. You can avoid a lot of these plumbing issues with proper preparation. To help you out, we have decided to put together a list of the most common winter plumbing issues. We hope you find it helpful.

It isn’t uncommon for pipes that supply your home with water to freeze during the winter, especially when it comes to those in uninsulated places and outdoor pipes. Frozen pipes can crack or burst, leading to some major leaks. Avoiding even minor leaks is, obviously, important. As such, it is vital to know how to prepare your home for the winter. Ensuring that both your outdoor and indoor pipes are adequately insulated is essential. Additionally, when it comes to the indoors, leaving your faucets open very slightly helps alleviate pressure and prevent bursting. 

If you find that some of your pipes are frozen, you will want to quickly thaw them out. Hairdryers and heat lamps work pretty well for this. And if any serious issues arise, immediately call a plumber.

Flooded basements

Another one of common winter plumbing issues is a flood in your basement on a warm day. After a snowstorm, when slightly warmer weather comes along, the snow will all start to melt. This can flood your basement quite quickly if you’re not ready for it. There are a few steps you can take to prevent this: regularly clear out the outdoor drainage, make sure your sump pump is working correctly, and always clear out at least 5 feet of snow surrounding your foundation. Additionally, be sure to check your foundation for issues such as cracks. If a flood does happen, you should be ready to move everything out of your basement. If necessary, getting reliable movers to jump in is always a good idea. It would be best to get everything out and dried as quickly as possible.

Water heater breaking down

Due to the low temperatures during winter, water heaters work overtime to get you hot water. Because of this, they are more likely to break down during winter. This can affect your plumbing in a few ways, from the obvious lack of hot water to reduced water flow or no flow at all. To avoid such issues, you must maintain your water heater. It would be best to drain it annually to get rid of sediment and scale, which tends to build in them and check the pressure relief valve to ensure it’s working correctly. Also, you can pick up a water heater blanket and install it to reduce heat loss. And if you spot any issues with your water heater, get them fixed immediately.

Damage to drains

One of the winter plumbing issues guaranteed to show up every year is damaged drains. Drains are an essential part of your home, and due to the freezing temperatures in the winter, they can get damaged quite easily. Especially if your drains are plastic or PVC, they will become brittle and prone to cracking. As such, it’s imperative to keep your drains clean from snow or anything that could clog them (such as leaves or grass clippings). If you notice your drains have frozen over, slowly heat them up. If there is ice at the opening of your drain, do the same. And if you notice a cracked drain, get it replaced as soon as possible. There are risks of putting off plumbing repairs, and you should avoid them as much as possible.

Backed up sump pumps

Sump pumps are one of the best ways to avoid a flooded basement. However, sump pumps can get easily overwhelmed during winter. So, you should do your best to keep your sump pumps functional. Ensure the pumps are properly cleaned out and occasionally test them by pouring water into the sump pits. Also, keep your basement as warm as possible to prevent the water inside the sump pumps and sump pits from freezing. Another good tip is to keep as much water as possible away from your basement. It could be good to install extra gutters or drains to redirect more water efficiently. And, of course, if the sump pumps aren’t working well, it should be your priority to fix them before the snow starts melting.

Sump pumps are your best defense against flooded basements.

Alt-tag: Steel pipes with pressure gauge

Clogged kitchen drains

Winter also comes with the holidays. Most families use their kitchen more during the winter, which leaves the kitchen drains vulnerable to clogging. This problem is easy to avoid, fortunately. Just make sure that you don’t have certain foods in the garbage disposal. Things such as eggshells, cooking oil, bones, grease, and melted fat should go in the garbage disposal as they tend to clog it up. Also, properly clean your kitchen drain and garbage disposal after every use. Running cold water into the drain for 15 to 30 seconds should do the trick, and we recommend using drop-in tablets to clean the garbage disposal. These are some of the simple ways to extend the lifespan of your home’s plumbing.

Common Winter Plumbing Issues – Delivered

Winter can bring many plumbing issues, which you can easily avoid. As long as you know how to prepare, winter shouldn’t be an issue for you or your plumbing. We hope you found this list of the most common winter plumbing issues helpful.