When preparing for the holidays, most people don’t throw a potential plumber’s emergency into the mix of things to account for. There’s already plenty to do with buying and wrapping gifts, decorating the tree, and making plans with friends and family – who could possibly have time to stop and check the plumbing system on top of all of that? Unfortunately, plumbing can often take on a mind of its’ own, with no consideration for anyone’s schedule.
To avoid a plumber’s emergency during the holidays, it’s important to take the proper steps to protect your plumbing system throughout the cold winter months. By protecting it from inclement weather, you will also help prevent a plumber’s emergency from putting a damper on your holiday festivities.
Don’t just take our word for it- here is a list of potential disasters that may turn into a plumber’s emergency: burst or frozen pipes, clogged drains, sprinkler system problems, lack of hot water and septic tank back-ups.
In hopes of keeping your home or business plumber’s emergency free, here is a checklist of preventative measures you can take to keep one of the above problems from putting a damper on your holiday season.
Water heaters
• Wrap a hot water heating blanket around your water heater
• Consider purchasing a timer for your water heater
• Insulate your water lines coming from the water heater
• Raise the temperature of your water heater
Indoor plumbing
• Insulate your water lines under your sink
• Open cabinets to expose pipes to warmer air or place a space heater to keep the water lines warm
• Clean out your pipes and garbage disposal
• Keep your house warm
Septic tanks
• Have your septic tank or cesspool checked to avoid costly plumber’s emergencies, it may need to be treated or pumped
Exposed pipes
• Insulate all exposed pipes
• Seal seams where the pipes enter the exterior wall
• Place a cover over the outdoor spigots
• Drain, roll-up and disconnect garden hoses
Please note that it is very important to know where your turn-off valve is in case a plumber’s emergency does occur. The water shut-off valve is usually outside of the house or building under a removable cover next to the water meter.
Sometimes, despite any and all precautionary measures you may take, a plumber’s emergency can still manage to happen. Don’t worry, here at AAA AUGER, we’re available to help anytime something goes wrong- 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, even on holidays and weekends. To make thing easier on you, and your wallet, we don’t charge for service calls either. Give us a call and we’ll come to your rescue.
Have you winterized your house yet?
