Company News

Brad’s Cleaners
Checklist for Winter Weather and Frozen PipesTo minimize the potential for frozen pipes, take note of the suggestions below.
Before Winter:	If your pipes freeze:	To prevent Ice Dams:
Disconnect and drain outdoor faucets, and shut them off inside. Patch cracks and holes near pipes. When temperatures approach zero, wind through a small opening can freeze nearby pipes, even though the room temperature is 70 degrees. Insulate pipes in unheated areas such as crawl spaces and garages. Check insulation! Wet insulation freezes fast, making it worse than no insulation at all. Make sure heat can circulate around pipes. Plumbing in an enclosed area such as a closet will freeze. Pay attention to basement piping. Older furnaces lose enough heat to warm basements. Newer energy efficient models do not. Consider UL approved heat tape. Find and tag your inside water shut-off valve, and make sure it works BEFORE an emergency arises. This will limit water damage should inside pipes burst.	Don’t use an open flame for thawing. You risk overheating a pipe and causing it to burst, or setting the house on fire. Use a hair dryer at a low setting and wave the heat along the pipe. Use caution. The pipe may already be broken, and water may pour out when the pipe thaws.	Don't heat the roof, keep it cold. That way, the snow on the roof eventually dissipates without making large amounts of meltwater. The underside of the roof deck should not exceed 30 F. The best way to maintain low temperatures is by ensuring that there is adequate insulation and sealing gaps that let warm air pass into the attic from the house. The attic must also be ventilated, so that cold air is introduced into it and heated air escapes rapidly. Some homeowners are under the impression that heat passing through the attic helps prevent ice dams, when just the opposite is true. Although excess heat moving from the attic through the roof rapidly melts snow, once the meltwater touches the cold eaves, it quickly freezes and forms an ice dam.

Call Brad’s for all of your cold weather home improvement needs.

“One Call Does It All !”

616-754-0389