Winter is that wonderful time of the year filled with family gatherings and holiday celebrations, but with the increased use of the kitchen and the lower temperatures, there are a few things to be aware of when it comes to your home plumbing. Here’s a list of common winter problems and what you can do to avoid them.
During the holidays, there is more cooking and eating, and consequently the kitchen sees more food pieces and grease going down the sink pipes. The build-up of food residue can eventually clog the pipes. A good piece of advice, if you want to learn about the benefits of drain cleaning and clog prevention, is to avoid pouring any grease down the sink, as it predisposes food particles to stick and cannot be washed away with water. That means, when you’re draining the fat from the bottom of the turkey roasting pan, resist the urge to just wash it down the sink; drain it into a tub or bag, freeze it, then dispose of it in the garbage.
It benefits to drain the pipes before something more serious occurs with them. Clearing the drains prevents backflow of water, which is dangerous to the health of your household members, and can also prevent foul odours from entering the home. Clogs or drain build-up can be easily cleared with a plunger or a drain snake. Toronto plumber also uses trenchless technologies, such as hydro-jetting to clean pipes thoroughly and prevent future clogs.
Frozen pipes are also a common problem during the winter months, especially in Toronto. The pipes usually freeze when the temperature falls below freezing point, a problem that is much more pronounced when the pipes run along an exterior wall of the building. Pay close attention to how your taps are behaving, as decreased water flow from the sink or shower can be a tell tale sign of the pipes freezing. In harsher situations, the frozen water pipe may break, which can cause property damage and loss of enormous amounts of water even from a small crack.
All kinds of pipes are prone to freezing. Toronto plumber services currently offer a WaterCop automatic shut-off system, which has an automatic valve as well as a flood and temperature sensors, tracking any threatening factors and, if the need arises, turning the water supply off from where it enters the house. The temperature sensors on the device monitor drops in temperature in pipes prone to freezing, and when the temperature drops below freezing, the sensor warns the system to stop the water flow. The system cannot prevent freezing but in the case of freezing it can save from a flooding or a pipe burst.
Certain precautions, such as installing pipe sleeves, heat tapes or heat cable on exposed water pipes can prevent freezing. Eventually, a call to the plumbing service to relocate freeze-prone pipes is a good option. Toronto plumber services offer pipe thawing, a safe and clear way to fix the issue quickly, and in the case of a frozen pipe, that is the way to go, before the pipe bursts.
Of course, you can only avoid so many plumbing problems before an unexpected one rears its head. Luckily, certain Toronto plumbers offer round-the-clock urgent service, so in the case of an emergency they are there to help at any time.
