We've been having unusually cold weather here in the Portland area this week, which has caused people to worry about frozen pipes. We had a customer call today who had a frozen hose bibb, and asked us how to handle it. There are two ways to look at protecting your pipes from freezing weather. If your pipes are not currently frozen, take the following steps to keep them flowing:
1. Open cupboard doors under sinks to allow heat from the house to reach the pipes, or leave a small trickle of water running so the water is not sitting in the cold pipes.
2. Remove hoses from outside hose bibbs. Drain the water out of them and store them in a dry place. Cover the bibbs with faucet covers like these.
3. Turn the water off to non-insulated pipes if you won't be using them. Current building code dictates that any pipe on an exterior wall that is not insulated must have a shut-off. These are sometimes located near the water heater (as seen here), or under a sink.
4. Put styrofoam insulators in your foundation vents to keep the heat under your house.
5. If you use a well for your water supply, make sure there is a light bulb in the pump house, which puts off enough heat to keep the pump from freezing. (You may need to have a professional electrician help with this if you don't already have a light).
If you have a pipe that is has started to freeze, take precautions to make sure it does not burst.
1. If possible, heat the area around the pipe to get the water flowing.
2. Wrap electric heater wire around the pipes.
3. Call Markt and Company and we'll put you in touch with a reputable plumber.
