It is Not Too Late To Install Heat Tapes Around Your Pipes:

Some of the worse things that can happen during an icy spell is having your water turn off due to your pipes totally freezing. This might be brief and your pipes might melt on its own with not much suffering. Still though if the pipes are frozen for a valid span of time, there is a danger of them totally breaking, resulting in an expensive pipe restoration job. Plus the constant flooding that might occur deteriorating lots of types of floors and drywall. To support you and stop chilled pipes in these situations we at Malone Home Center in Greenville recommend that you start installing heat tapes or heat cables around your home's pipes.

   

Pipes are more likely to frost over in a mobile home, a home that is on a raised foundation or crawl space, in a storage place or garage that is not heated, on faucets that or on an outside wall or a isolated structure with no regular heat. By putting heat tapes around your pipes, it will sustain heat and protect freezing pipes when it matters the most.

Heat tapes come in different lengths, to fit around three foot to eighteen-foot pipes. Don’t forget to read the labels as it will tell you how much tape will encase the length of pipe. Also, you will want to know what kind of pipe needs enclosed, some heat tapes only operate with distinct kinds of pipe. Please read the instructions carefully, while this is rather an effortless task, you will still want to follow the info with the utmost care. If installed incorrectly the heat tapes/cables might not perform right and pipes will still get frozen. Sometimes worse, if you use the wrong type of heat cable or tapes for the pipes it might start a fire. If you or your family are not clear drive on over and visit us at Malone Home Center.

 

If your pipes are inside against an outside wall with little insulation, they also will be likely to icy and freezing conditions, keep heat advancing through and to pipes by opening cabinet doors so heat can get through the cabinets. It is can be also suggested to keep a steady small flow of water running before, during, and after the extreme cold temperatures. If they have iced over before, they just might freeze again, and positioning a little bit of heat tape or heat cable is an additional protection.

There is also a foam insulation wrap that goes right over the pipes and can be put over the heat tapes too. There is also spray foam insulation that can be placed in certain areas to fill in the icy cold air cracks.

  

While the focus is preventing your pipes from getting iced over, other areas are prone to freeze, as well, such as drains around the washer or if you have a sink in an unheated garage, drains around these spaces could get frozen over too. For some of these areas running a trickle of water will help prevent drains from freezing.

For those severe arctic weather days, don’t forget to check in on family, and checkup your next-door neighbors to see how they are doing. Animals and pets are hypersensitive to the climate too. If it is freezing cold for us, it is also briskly cold for them. If you keep drinks outdoors for your pets, it will also freeze. There are heated water pet bowls handy or you can put heat tapes or heat cables around their water bowls.

  

If you already equipped heat tape last year…double check that they are in good working order, ahead of the cold weather. If the heat tapes are not working, it’s probably time to replace them. Heat tapes can last a lengthy amount of time once equipped but like some things, they do wear out or animals might have gotten to a piece of the tape and nibbled it off.

Not positive what heat tapes are best for your building or home? Visit your local hardware store like Malone Home Center in Greenville. Our workers can show you the first-rate type of pipe insulations, heat tapes and other options to do some protective pipe winterization so you do not go without water during the winter months.