Frozen Pipe Preventative Measures

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Frozen Pipe Preventative Measures

Paul Bommarito
Rental Property Investor · Detroit, MI · Member since 2018 · 47 posts · 36 votes

As I am sure most people are aware, we just went through some of the coldest days in Chicago's history. Many people had pipes burst and as I walked out of Home Depot this morning, everyone had pipe insulation, new copper pipes, and a variety of other materials to help deal with the devastation that the cold can cause. We were not spared from this and had two pipes burst in our laundry room. I should have expected this given that there is no heating in that area. So below are some lessons I have learned, and would love to hear anyone else's tips/tricks and also thoughts on what we should do now that we have to replace a bunch of pipes. Should we switch to PEX or PVC over copper?

1. Insulate all the pipes that you can if you live in a cold area. Pipe insulation is not very expensive, and if it saves you from having a pipe burst, this could save you thousands in damages.

2. If you know really cold weather is coming, and you have areas of pipe that are more likely to freeze, consider turning off the water to that area before the cold comes, and emptying those pipes as best as possible. This is something we should have done, but did not know any better unfortunately. Had we done this early last week, there would have been no water in these pipes to freeze and burst.

3. Depending on the space in the home or property, consider adding baseboard electric heaters to the room to help keep it warmer in the winter. We were not aware of these, and now that we know you can buy them for $100 or less, we will be installing one or two in our unheated laundry room area and storage room, and have these keep the temperature warmer in the winter so the pipes stay running.

Would love to hear any other thoughts! (I read to leave your faucets dripping, and that did not help unfortunately. Maybe if I left it running a little stronger, but I did not like that idea too much...)

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Mark AinleyBusiness Member
Property Manager · Roselle, IL (Chicago Suburb) · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
7y

@Paul Bommarito great topic to write about.  Here are some thoughts and experiences from our management operation. 

1. We have about 350, 100 year old plus buildings in the Chicago which is where we have 80% of our issues so we focus more attention there in the days leading up to the cold snap. 

2. We focus on the buildings where the plumbing is in a crawl space or on an exterior wall.  

3. Some buildings we use gutter heaters (low voltage) to wrap problem areas. 

4. We request that tenants keep all interior doors open to keep heat flow thru the entire home or unit. 

5. When you get frozen pipes don’t rush to thaw them.  The faster you thaw them the more likely it will burst.  Thaw slow.  

6. Our vacant construction units or some vacant single family turnovers we will turn water off at main so we have no flow thru the pipes.  

7. We have the tenants open the sink base cabinet doors in kitchen and bath to keep warm air flowing under and into the cabinet.  

We have these snaps a few times a year and learning your weak spots in a building and fixing them for the next time is something we try to do. Learn from your problems to prevent. 

[email protected]630-781-6744Podcast Guest on Show #72
GC Realty & Development LLC4.61078 Reviews
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  • Mike ReynoldsPro Member
    construction · Nacogdoches, TX · Member since 2011 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Paul Bommarito:

    As I am sure most people are aware, we just went through some of the coldest days in Chicago's history. Many people had pipes burst and as I walked out of Home Depot this morning, everyone had pipe insulation, new copper pipes, and a variety of other materials to help deal with the devastation that the cold can cause. We were not spared from this and had two pipes burst in our laundry room. I should have expected this given that there is no heating in that area. So below are some lessons I have learned, and would love to hear anyone else's tips/tricks and also thoughts on what we should do now that we have to replace a bunch of pipes. Should we switch to PEX or PVC over copper?

    1. Insulate all the pipes that you can if you live in a cold area. Pipe insulation is not very expensive, and if it saves you from having a pipe burst, this could save you thousands in damages.

    2. If you know really cold weather is coming, and you have areas of pipe that are more likely to freeze, consider turning off the water to that area before the cold comes, and emptying those pipes as best as possible. This is something we should have done, but did not know any better unfortunately. Had we done this early last week, there would have been no water in these pipes to freeze and burst.

    3. Depending on the space in the home or property, consider adding baseboard electric heaters to the room to help keep it warmer in the winter. We were not aware of these, and now that we know you can buy them for $100 or less, we will be installing one or two in our unheated laundry room area and storage room, and have these keep the temperature warmer in the winter so the pipes stay running.

    Would love to hear any other thoughts! (I read to leave your faucets dripping, and that did not help unfortunately. Maybe if I left it running a little stronger, but I did not like that idea too much...)

    I live in Texas so I don't feel your pain so much but I have had  busted pipes at least once a year. Mostly because us people in Texas think it wont happen to us and it does anyway. There are better products on the market than "PEX" right now that will do better in freezing conditions. If you do use a product like PEX consider the local conditions other than freezing. I built a swanky hunting lodge in south west Texas and wanted to use PEX and the local plumbers looks at me like I was crazy (and stupid to boot). It appears the desert rats like the taste of PEX and if you run it you have to put it in metal conduit to keep the rats from getting a drink of water in that desert region. 

    Probably not an issue in the semi arid region of Chicago but there may be other issues the locals can clue you in on. 

    Anyway, not all PEX is created equal and do your research.

    1Reply
  • Mark AinleyBusiness Member
    Property Manager · Roselle, IL (Chicago Suburb) · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    7y

    @Paul Bommarito great topic to write about.  Here are some thoughts and experiences from our management operation. 

    1. We have about 350, 100 year old plus buildings in the Chicago which is where we have 80% of our issues so we focus more attention there in the days leading up to the cold snap. 

    2. We focus on the buildings where the plumbing is in a crawl space or on an exterior wall.  

    3. Some buildings we use gutter heaters (low voltage) to wrap problem areas. 

    4. We request that tenants keep all interior doors open to keep heat flow thru the entire home or unit. 

    5. When you get frozen pipes don’t rush to thaw them.  The faster you thaw them the more likely it will burst.  Thaw slow.  

    6. Our vacant construction units or some vacant single family turnovers we will turn water off at main so we have no flow thru the pipes.  

    7. We have the tenants open the sink base cabinet doors in kitchen and bath to keep warm air flowing under and into the cabinet.  

    We have these snaps a few times a year and learning your weak spots in a building and fixing them for the next time is something we try to do. Learn from your problems to prevent. 

    [email protected]630-781-6744Podcast Guest on Show #72
    GC Realty & Development LLC4.61078 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    2Reply
  • Mark AinleyBusiness Member
    Property Manager · Roselle, IL (Chicago Suburb) · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    7y

    @Paul Bommarito we are believers in running the faucets too especially in our known issue buildings.  Keeping the faucets at drip helps prevent freezing but at the same time gives you quicker warning that it is frozen when the water stops dripping. 

    In 2017-18 we had a 2 flat building in Chicago where the copper supply lines came out of the water meter in the crawl and ran the length out under unit 1.  It took us days to fix but a week later when it warmed up we moved the lines into unit 1 and built a soffit and ran them inside the unit and we didn’t have an issue again this year. 

    [email protected]630-781-6744Podcast Guest on Show #72
    GC Realty & Development LLC4.61078 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    1Reply
  • Paul Bommarito
    OP
    Rental Property Investor · Detroit, MI · Member since 2018 · 47 posts · 36 votes
    7y

    @Mark Ainley, thank you for all the tips and advice. I am sure you have seen a ton of different issues with that many units.

    Can you share an example of a gutter heater? I am not familiar with those and can’t seem to find it online.

    Do you continue to use copper if the pipe breaks? Or are there other materials you like to use?

    Thanks again, would love to connect at some point if you are ever downtown

    0Reply
  • Joseph A.
    New Rochelle, NY · Member since 2018 · 235 posts · 151 votes
    7y

    I had a pipe burst in my house last year. The pipe was in the crawl space and the bathroom needed to be updated so I gutted the bathroom and changed the location of water lines from under the crawlspace to in the walls and changed them to PEX. For the pipes that have to remain under the crawlspace I wrapped in heat tape and installed a switch that can turn that outlet off from inside the house. 

    2Reply
  • Max T.
    Investor · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2015 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    7y

    @Joseph Akingbade

    Smart.

    The best thing you can do is locate pipes away from exterior walls, unheated rooms and crawl spaces.

    When that is not possible, heat tape is the way to go.

    Plastic pex piping expands, so when the water inside freezes the pipe does not break. Plus it’s faster and easier to work with than copper.

    2Reply
  • Jonathan Smith
    Moseley, VA · Member since 2016 · 115 posts · 60 votes
    7y

    @Max T.

    Try water pipe heat tape, it’s like an electric blanket for the pipes. You wrap it and plug it in for it to warm up.

    1Reply
  • Max T.
    Investor · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2015 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Jonathan Smith:

    @Max T.

    Try water pipe heat tape, it’s like an electric blanket for the pipes. You wrap it and plug it in for it to warm up.

     Yes Jon that was in my comment above.

    0Reply
  • Eric M.
    Flipper/Rehabber · Louisville, KY · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    7y

    Pex is not allowed in Chicago.

    Leaving faucets trickle is the solution but it must be more than a drip. Needs to be a stream. Also if you have a single lever mixer faucet you need to set it in the middle so so water is drawn fron the hot and cold pipes. If you let it trickle on cold, the hot pipe will freeze.

    1Reply
  • Allan Szlafrok
    Rental Property Investor · Long Island, NY · Member since 2015 · 490 posts · 301 votes
    7y

    @Paul Bommarito Besides letting the water drip and leaving cabinets open they also sell these electric pipe heaters that you wrap around the pipe and kick in once the temperature gets below freezing. I’ve never used them but I may start.

    1Reply
  • Paul Bommarito
    OP
    Rental Property Investor · Detroit, MI · Member since 2018 · 47 posts · 36 votes
    7y

    @Eric Michaels I did not know that, thank you. I just checked our local Home Depot on the app and sure enough it’s not even an option. I read somewhere that it is only for pottable water though, so could we use it for the pipes that are used for the laundry machines? If not I will just do copper and insulation

    0Reply
  • Paul Bommarito
    OP
    Rental Property Investor · Detroit, MI · Member since 2018 · 47 posts · 36 votes
    7y

    @Allan Szlafrok wow thank you, did not know that existed.

    0Reply
  • Daniel Cullen
    Specialist · Chicago · Member since 2015 · 64 posts · 56 votes
    7y

    -Keep your basement laundry sink or bathroom sink water at a slow stream. This will keep water slowly moving through your plumbing system preventing freezing and burst piping. Even if your home is new construction the piping between the street/well and your home can still freeze regardless of interior home insulation.

    -Run your dishwasher at night when temperatures are at the lowest. This will move more water through your plumbing system when you need it the most to prevent freezing pipes.
    -If your house doesn’t have the best insulation in addition to the above suggestions you can leave the sink cabinets open to increase airflow around the plumbing to avoid a burst pipe.
    -Avoid doing laundry when temperatures are at the coldest and if you can wait a few days it will save you some money. When you operate your close dryer, warm air from your house is being pushed outside. This warm air is replaced via exterior cold air which will cool down your house requiring your furnace to operate more often.

    Tuesday night through Thursday we all will experience temperatures and wind chills that our homes' heating systems are NOT designed for. -20 to -30-degree temperatures with wind chills into -40 and up to -50+.
    Newer homes will struggle to maintain temperature and older homes will NOT maintain temperature and the temperature WILL drop while the heating system is working at full capacity.
    1. Please raise the temperature in your home on Monday, 2 to 4 degrees above your normal setting.
    2. Take all programmable thermostats out of setback mode and set on a permanent HOLD.
    3. If you have a furnace; replace the filter.
    4. Keep garage doors closed.
    5. Limit opening exterior doors.
    6. Make sure air vents and radiators are not blocked or obstructed.
    7. If you have a 90%+ furnace and boiler: You must keep the intake and exhaust clear of ice and snow. During these cold temperatures, ice can build up. A 90%+ furnace and boiler have 2 white PVC pipes; an exhaust pipe and an intake pipe that are generally on the side or back of your home. In some instances, they are on your roof, do NOT go on your roof to clear the pipe.
    If the temperature in your home is dropping and your radiators are HOT with boiler systems or you have HOT air coming out of your vents with furnaces DO NOT PANIC. Please make sure that your heating system continues to operate.
    If the temperatures drops in your home, it will not be able to recover until temperatures rise and the windchill diminishes. Our heating systems cannot overcome temperatures -20 to -30 with wind chill up to -50+. They are sized to operate at 0 degrees outdoor. Put your thermostat on hold 70 degrees or higher.
    To help minimize temperature loss you can boil water, make soup, or stews; they help introduce humidity and warmer temperatures into your home. DO NOT USE YOUR OVEN or a GRILL TO HEAT YOUR HOME.

    1Reply
  • Eric M.
    Flipper/Rehabber · Louisville, KY · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Paul Bommarito:

    @Eric Michaels I did not know that, thank you. I just checked our local Home Depot on the app and sure enough it’s not even an option. I read somewhere that it is only for pottable water though, so could we use it for the pipes that are used for the laundry machines? If not I will just do copper and insulation

     Call  the building department as to the definition of non potable. My understanding is that it is irrigation systems, fire systems, and radiant heating. In my laundry room, I can hook up a hose or sink and drink it easily. 

    0Reply
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