Displaying items by tag: winter

[Updated January 11. 2022]

Plummeting temperatures can wreak havoc on plumbing. A ruptured pipe can cause extensive, costly damage and disrupt your life or business. Worse, floodwater can pose numerous safety and health risks, ranging from electric shock to illness from waterborne pathogens or even toxic mold.

With your family or business on the line, you will want to do everything you can to prevent water from freezing inside your plumbing; or if the unforeseeable happens and you find your pipes frozen - take the steps to prevent pipes from bursting and safely thaw them.

A frozen pipe will not necessarily burst if the faucet valve is open to release pressure moving down the pipe.

Start with prevention:

Here are five steps you can take right now to reduce the risk of frozen pipes. Make sure you winterize your property outdoors, draining pools and irrigation systems and hoses, insulating and covering outdoor faucets and securing doors and windows in garages and outbuildings with water supplies. Also, be sure to follow these tips from the American Red Cross:

1. Check around the home for other areas where water supply lines are located in unheated areas. Look in the basement, crawl space, attic, garage, and under kitchen and bathroom cabinets. Both hot and cold water pipes in these areas should be insulated.
2. Open kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors to allow warmer air to circulate around the plumbing. Be sure to move any harmful cleaners and household chemicals up out of the reach of children.
3. When the weather is very cold outside, let the cold water drip from the faucet served by exposed pipes. Running water through the pipe, even at a trickle, helps prevent pipes from freezing.
4. Keep the thermostat set to the same temperature both during the day and at night. By temporarily suspending the use of lower nighttime temperatures, you may incur a higher heating bill, but you can prevent a much more costly repair job if pipes freeze and burst.
5. If you will be going away during cold weather, leave the heat on in your home, set to a temperature no lower than 55° F.

If pipes freeze, don’t panic, do this:

If you wake up one morning and the water won’t come on in your kitchen, don’t panic. While horrifying visions of water filling crawl spaces and mold spores sprouting may be unavoidable, a frozen pipe will not necessarily burst if the faucet valve is open to release pressure moving down the pipe. Take a deep breath, and then follow these American Red Cross tips to safely thaw your pipe:

1. If you turn on a faucet and only a trickle comes out, suspect a frozen pipe. Likely places for frozen pipes include against exterior walls or where your water service enters your home through the foundation.
2. Keep the faucet open. As you treat the frozen pipe and the frozen area begins to melt, water will begin to flow through the frozen area. Running water through the pipe will help melt ice in the pipe.
3. Apply heat to the section of pipe using an electric heating pad wrapped around the pipe, an electric hairdryer, a portable space heater (kept away from flammable materials), or by wrapping pipes with towels soaked in hot water. Do not use a blowtorch, kerosene or propane heater, charcoal stove, or other open flame devices.
4. Apply heat until the full water pressure is restored. If you are unable to locate the frozen area, if the frozen area is not accessible, or if you can not thaw the pipe, call a licensed plumber.
5. Check all other faucets in your home to find out if you have additional frozen pipes. If one pipe freezes, others may freeze, too.

These tips should help minimize the risk of plumbing ruptures from frozen pipes. Call your agent at Baldwin | Welsh & Parker to file a claim if needed, and to make sure you have protection in the event you find yourself facing a water damage catastrophe from frozen, ruptured pipes. And if you experience frozen pipes, give us a call to help you submit a claim. You can also file a claim directly with your insurance company.

A cold weather plan for your facility should be an integral part of your overall maintenance plan for the building and equipment as well as part your emergency response/contingency plan that helps your business respond to and manage an emergency event. Here are some tips to help you develop your cold weather plan.

Creating the Plan. Develop a written plan to include actions to be taken during these junctures:

• Before the onset of winter
• When a winter storm is imminent and/or damaging cold temperatures are expected
• After a winter storm and/or prolonged cold weather A plan is only as good as its execution. With that in mind, it is critical to the successful mitigation of damage to your facilities from the winter weather to include the following elements as part of your Cold Weather Plan:
• Accountability for overall implementation, including pre-winter inspections
• Defined roles and responsibilities for outlined activities and responses
• Initial and annual training
• Annual review of plan to include evaluation of effectiveness and identifying improvement opportunities
• To aid you in developing your plan, ask your team to consider some “what ifs,” such as:
• What if you lose heat to the building? What is your contingency plan?
• What if the facility is closed (weather, holidays, etc.) AND extreme weather is expected? How will you monitor your facility? Will someone be checking on the facility daily?
• What if a fire protection sprinkler pipe freezes and bursts? Is there someone on the premises who knows how to shut the system off? What about other systems that use water?
• What if there are areas that you know could be susceptible to freezing? How are you going to monitor them and what steps are you going to take should the temperature become dangerously low?

Before the Onset of Winter

Inspect the Building Develop a checklist to ensure:

• Openings around exterior walls such as windows, doors, or other openings are sealed
• Equipment penthouses are secured from cold air infiltration
• Louvers are closed or sealed
• Dampers on ducts leading to the outside are closed (if possible)
• Attics and other areas susceptible to the cold are properly insulated
• Adequate air flow to maintain heat in all areas of the building to a minimum of 40ºF
• Roof is in good condition or make repairs as needed – Drains, drain pipes, and gutters are free of debris – Roof cover is free of cracks or blisters – Decking is free of rust or other signs of deterioration – Flashing is secured – There are no cracked or bent roof supports (beams, columns, joists)

Check Utilities and Process Equipment

• Check and repair heating systems as needed to include boilers, furnaces, ovens, process heaters, etc.
• Inspect process, water, condensate, steam lines subject to freezing for proper insulation or heat tracing
• Drain, blow out, or flush lines for seasonal or idle equipment
• Check alternate fuel supplies for operability and supply adequacy

Check Water-Based Fire Protection Equipment

• Make sure all your equipment has been checked in accordance with national fire protection association (NFPA) 25, Standard for the Inspection, Testing and Maintenance of Water-Based Fire Protection Equipment
• Be certain that central station water flow alarms are working properly
• Ensure areas including concealed spaces (attics, above false ceilings, under raised floors, etc.) are heated to 40ºF or greater
• Dry sprinkler systems – Drain water from low point drains – Ensure piping is properly pitched and replace broken or missing pipe hangers – Check system for air leaks and repair if needed – Make sure low air pressure alarm is functioning
• Fire pump – Check pump house temperature » Electric engine driver—should be maintained at 40ºF or greater » Diesel engine driver—should be maintained at 70ºF or greater – Ensure suction source is protected from freezing

Identify and Align Resources. The time to identify needed resources is before the winter season starts. Resource needs are going to vary depending on your location and operations. You may need resources such as:

• Qualified contractor to remove snow and ice from the roof
• Emergency generator
• Fuel supplies for critical operations such as fire protection equipment, processes, or on-site generators
• Snow removal services to ensure access to the property

When a Winter Storm and/or Deep Freeze Is on the Way

• Monitor weather reports for information to include power outages, potential damage, access to facilities and prepare for action
• If needed, activate the emergency response team
• Monitor temperatures in areas susceptible to freezing or significant temperature fluctuations
• Monitor snow loads of roofs, especially in areas subject to drifts, and take action as needed
• Clear snow from outside sprinkler control valves and hydrants to keep them accessible
• Prepare for possible power outage
• Remove ice dams

After the Storm

• If needed, conduct a damage assessment and secure resources to complete repairs
• Initiate salvage operations
• If power was lost, make sure you have a plan to bring electrical loads back on line to prevent power surges that could damage equipment

For additional resources on cold weather hazards and developing a contingency plan visit the Hanover Risk Solutions website under Preparing for Severe Weather.

Thank you to our friends at Hanover Risk Solutions who provided this terrific information!