Let’s talk about winterizing – possibly one of the most misunderstood and poorly done activities of home ownership. And yet, it’s one of the least expensive things you can do for your home or office that will yield the biggest pay-off in both lower energy bills and peace of mind prevention. Because water damage restoration is expensive – and there are always some things that can’t be replaced or restored once damaged.
Let’s start with the question: How often are you home?
The answer to this one question will determine the level of winterization you need to perform.
Do you manage rental property, even just one place? Or perhaps you travel a lot for business or pleasure?
Or perhaps you just like to save a little money and be environmentally conscious by conserving energy and “greening” up your place a bit.
Whatever your schedule or your reasons, winterizing your home or professional space is one of the least expensive, least time consuming things you can do to protect yourself from pipes bursting and flooding your property, when you consider the time and expense you’ll waste in damage control after the fact.
So, what exactly can you do to winterize your home – and what happens during a winterization appointment, when you call the professionals at Robinson’s Plumbing Service?
We do different things for occupied and unoccupied homes. Some of these tips you can do yourself. For some other things, we recommend getting a professional to help you. And of course, we’re here to answer any questions you have.
When we come out to winterize a home or office, we send one of our professional, fully-trained and background-checked technicians to perform a thorough inspection of your entire plumbing system.
In an unoccupied home or building, we check for leaks and repair any that we find. We properly insulate any exposed pipes that are subject to freezing, particularly near outside walls or areas with poor heat circulation. We use a special sanitary antifreeze in all the p-traps and toilets and remove water from all the toilets.
And that’s not all. We drain the water lines, close crawlspace vents, and turn the temperature down on the water heater.
To winterize an occupied home, we still perform the thorough plumbing system inspection, finding and repairing leaks and insulating at-risk pipes. We will also turn off and drain any outdoor spigots that aren’t frost-proof. If spigots are frost-proof, there is no need to drain them. We obviously always recommend having frost-proof outdoor spigots. It’s usually the safer bet.
A winterization appointment is super efficient, because you’re basically killing two birds with one stone. On one hand, you get a great overall picture of what sort of shape your plumbing is in. At the same time, you also get the services you need to lower your energy bills and save your home from potential disaster.
And as always, because we’re local and family-owned, we’re as concerned with being good neighbors as we are with being good plumbers. And for your own security and peace of mind, all of our professional plumbing technicians are thoroughly screened and background checked.
Do you have any questions that are specific to your plumbing? Or are you concerned that your pipes may not truly be ready for the cold weather? Call us. We’ll be happy to come out and answer your questions and provide you with a free estimate, if we determine that there’s more you can do to protect yourself and your property.
After all, that’s what neighbors do.
Need help winterizing your property?
Robinson’s Plumbing Service proudly serves all of Central Virginia, including Charlottesville, Crozet, Troy, and all of Goochland County.