Frozen Pipes in Tacoma

Get Your Plumbing System Ready for Winter

In the Pacific Northwest, we rarely get the bitter cold of the Midwest, but we do get the occasional power outage and those coupled with cold weather can cause problems. Frozen pipes not only mean plumbing bills to repair pipes and fixtures, but unexpected remodeling bills to replace walls, ceilings, and flooring as well. It’s best to be prepared.

For Washington State homeowners, it’s important for owners of vacant houses or condo/duplex/triplex units to properly winterize and secure their unit to prevent winter damage to it and any neighboring units.

At Bob Larson Plumbing, we can winterize any property to make sure that it is protected! But you might want to take look over our special Advantage Plan, it’s almost like having plumbing insurance.

Prevent Your Pipes from Freezing

During the cold winter months, there is a good chance that unprotected water pipes will freeze. If this happens, you may only have the annoyance of having no water. However, your interrupted water service could turn into a disaster when the pipes thaw. Water pipes may have ruptured, and as the pipes thaw, ice turns back into water and that water can cause property damage and will require plumbing repairs.

Here are things you and Bob Larson Plumbing can do to reduce the chances of your water lines freezing:

• Turn off the outside water valve.
• Disconnect water hoses and drain water from pipes with an open faucet to make sure no water is flowing.
• Ensure that your water heater is working properly.
• For vacant houses and such, allow a trickle of hot and cold water to drip. The cost of dripping water is small compared to the damage from frozen pipes.
• Make sure that your running water doesn’t go to a drain that is exposed to extreme cold. That could cause another freezing problem.
• Open kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors under sinks to allow ambient heat to circulate around uninsulated pipes.
• Heat unused rooms that have plumbing. Sometimes a simple, incandescent light bulb burning can already generate enough heat to save you thousands of dollars in repairs.
• Insulate pipes in areas where there is no heat such as the garage, storm porch, or crawl space.
• Caulk any air leaks around doors and windows to reduce cold air penetration. Spray cans of foam can also be used for larger air leaks around dryer vents and cable line connections.

If frozen pipes do occur, our Tacoma plumbers at Bob Larson Plumbing can thaw those pipes. We thaw the pipes safely and repair any pipe damage immediately, which lessens the damage to the walls, ceilings, and floors.