Identifying And Insulating Pipes Before Winter: How Your Local Professionals Can Help

18 September 2019
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If you have recently noticed that many of the pipes in your home do not appear to be insulated, and winter is on the way, you may want to take a Saturday or other spare day to identify these pipes and insulate them. Usually, turning on one hot tap in your home at a time will help you identify which hot water pipes are which, and which pipes are hot water only as opposed to cold water pipes. Identifying the pipes helps you locate the related pipe when you have a plumbing problem with a sink, toilet or shower in your home. It also helps you know which pipes need insulation. If you need help, a plumber or HVAC contractor can help in the following ways. 

Help Identifying Pipes

First and foremost, you want to identify the pipes that run up to a sink, a toilet, or a shower/tub. You can tag these pipes with colored zip ties, and then color-code the zip ties to a piece of paper that tells you what pipe is what. Since not all pipes will go to a sink, a tub, or a toilet, you will have other pipes left over. The HVAC contractor can help identify pipes that feet gas or oil into a furnace, as well as pipes needed for your air conditioning, if applicable. The plumber can identify strange pipes as pipes that either do not have a purpose anymore, or pipes that are protecting electrical wiring or cables. 

Tagging Pipes

The pros can help you tag and/or label pipes, which definitely helps when things need to be identified during a plumbing repair. By tagging pipes now, any repairs you may need in the future are shortened because the plumber will be able to find the right pipes faster. Metal tags to zip tags and a any other option offered by a plumber or HVAC contractor can be used. 

Insulating Pipes

A big problem homeowners have is insulating pipes properly. The do not always use the correct types of insulation, and then they wonder why the pipes freeze. The pros will show you exactly what kind of insulation to use on the pipes. They will also show you which pipes need insulation, versus those that do not. Most of the time, all of your cold water pipes need to be insulated, as they are most prone to freeze. Cooling appliance pipes need to be insulated, too. If you do not run hot water through all taps on a daily basis, then your hot water pipes will need some insulation as well, but most of the time hot water pipes can be left as they are. 

To learn more, contact a residential plumbing service