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When a cold winter’s night is approaching, it is a wise idea to consider if you should do something to prevent your pipes from freezing. While you might go many winters without getting a frozen pipe, a single burst will be enough to make you cautious every winter after. Pipe bursts from freezing are major hassles that can cause serious water damage to your home, even to structural components.

They can cause mold, damage things like your furnace and do plenty of damage. They can also wrack up quite the water bill, along with the bills to repair and replace the pipe and everything it has damaged. At the start of every winter and before the worst record-breaking cold nights, you should consider if you need to do anything to prevent your pipes from freezing. Here are the steps that you can take to prevent pipe freezing.

  • Insulate Your Pipes

Just like walls, pipes can be insulated. Hardware stores sell insulation specifically for pipes, don’t try to put wall insulation on them. Also, you may not necessarily need to insulate every pipe in your home. Steel and copper pipes will be more vulnerable to cold temperatures than plastic ones because metal is a better heat conductor. When you insulate these pipes, you may also find that this solves condensation issues too.

  • Add Heat Tape

Heat tape is another option to keep your pipes from freezing. This can be a safety risk, so you should read the instructions for heat tape carefully and only use them where and how the manufacturers recommend it. Some tape is meant only for outdoor pipes and some only for indoor pipes.

  • Turn Up the Heat

Especially if the home is vacant, you should turn up the heat during winter nights. Excess heat can help protect the pipes from freezing and it can be protective of other features, appliances and surfaces in the home too, which are all likely not meant to be frozen.

  • Look for Foundation Problems

Cracks and gaps in the foundation can let in cold air even though the home is warm. These gaps and cracks are especially a problem if they are right next to pipes, as this will expose the pipes to the coldest air and increase the odds that they will freeze over. You can fill in these gaps and cracks before the cold weather arrives. Ideally, you’d have a professional do this to ensure that the crack is filled for the long-term, or you’ll find yourself out there next winter filling in the same gaps.

  • Drain Outdoor Fixtures

The outdoor fixtures are more likely to burst than the indoor ones, simply because they are exposed to colder temperatures and aren’t protected by the house. It is a good idea to disconnect the outdoor hoses and drain water from the pipes that lead to outdoor hoses. Though these are internal pipes they will also be colder than the other indoor pipes because they lead outside.

  • Run the Water

If all else fails, and a very cold night is approaching, then you can run the faucets a little. Just a small trickle for every faucet will keep the water moving, which helps prevent it from freezing. Moving water needs much lower temperatures to freeze than standing water, although it is still possible for them to freeze. And don’t forget to turn off all the taps in the morning.

What If My Pipes Have Frozen?

Well, worse has come to worst and you’re certain you have a frozen pipe. What steps should you take to prevent additional damage? Of course, you should call a professional plumber right away, to get them on the road to you as soon as possible. You should then take the following steps:

  • Turn off the water: Turn off the home’s main water valve to stop the flow of water or prevent it when the pipe thaws. There will still be some water in the frozen pipe though, so be prepared.
  • Do not use flame: Yes, thawing the pipe is the next step, but using an open flame in the house is dangerous.
  • Try a hair dryer: But don’t stand in water while you work.

Do you need help preparing your home for the next big freeze? Or, are you worried that you are dealing with a frozen pipe problem already? Reach out to us at Clearview Services. We can help you minimize the damage to your home and recover quickly.

Serving Calgary, AB and surrounding areas

We take immense pride in providing Calgary, AB and surrounding areas with top-notch plumbing, heating, and cooling services, ensuring every home and business operates smoothly year-round. Our team’s expertise and dedication shine through in every project, earning the trust and satisfaction of our valued customers across the city. Serving you isn’t just a job for us; it’s a commitment to excellence and a testament to our passion for keeping our community comfortable and thriving.

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Had them update and install our infloor heating two zones, and add tank less hot water on demand and install a water softener. Our technician was very professional kept his work area tidy, cleaned up after himself. He also wiped down all the equipment used including piping and tubing. He was friendly, kept us informed on his progress. You could tell he enjoys what he does… great job Thank you so much.

Carol Hill

Heinz was professional and honest. He gave me options and the price. The price was the price and there were no extra charges. He worked on a boiler system that was having issues. He flushed and cleaned system and everything is back up and running. When he was finished he asked if I had any question. I look forward to him coming back to service this system again.

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Clearview was excellent to deal with. Very professional in their approach and the picture sent of the plumber before hand is an excellent idea. Richard was great to deal with. He gave me different options to resolve the problem.

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Barry did a great job in replacing a leaking Hot Water tank. Just a bit shocked at how much the cost of a new tank has increased over the years. We would certainly use ClearView for future jobs.

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Barry was fantastic. Explained the steps that would be required to detect the leak and then proceeded with the work. He was professional and managed to fix our issue same day. He left our home clean and tidy before leaving. Overall very happy.

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We could not do the water valve replacement because the city could not shut the water off. I was warned ahead of time that this might happen so was not worried. Yamil was courteous and professional and I look forward to his return when the city can fulfill there end of the job. Justin and Sean were great with the furnace install. It went smoothly and Justin explained the new thermostat fully. The walk through on the furnace was useful and timely. Justin and Sean were friendly and professional and great to work with. John who came out for the initial inspection…

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Arrived on time and did a quick and efficient replacement of my kitchen sink faucet. Also took the time to further explain the operation of the water softener installed on the last visit.
Richard was friendly and knowledgeable. Great service!

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The appointment to come to check my boiler was prompt and early I’m the day so I didn’t have to wait the whole day. I received a call 15mins before the arrival. An email and a text was sent earlier. Gerry introduced himself and told me his purpose. He checked my boiler for a while then explained clear to me what the problem was, it was relief to know that it is nit necessarily a serious one. He made further checks and made some recommendations for change of some worn out parts, the re-glycol – 10yrs overdue and some leak that…

Roland B.

Our hot water tank blew and fortunately we noticed right away. We called Clearview Services late in the evening and we were answered right away. We were kept in the loop throughout the entire experience and Gabe Colpitts was the service technician who visited the next morning. He was very professional and spent the time to explain and educate the different options that were available. We were up and running with hot water the very next day.

Mike Mario

I felt the company is oriented on quality of customer service , they send me the track link when dispatch the plumber, and the plumber is super on time too . I really appreciate Richard , he is supper patient to help me find out what is the best solution, focus on customer’s interest . Thank you again , I will definitely use your service again when I having plumbing problems, which I hope it will never happen.

Jing Huang

John came out to review our heating and AC set-up. He was very knowledgeable and patient as he walked us through the various units and proposed maintenance program. Would highly recommend.

Lucus Tomei

Jon was on time and dispatch team did their best to get him to the property to do an inspection on leaking pipes and backup sewer system. Jon then immediately got another job into the system to have a deeper inspection of the entire system to determine where the blockage was.

David Crawford

Can’t say enough about the great service I received from Heinz regarding some concerning alerts we got on our Ecobee Smart Thermostat yesterday. I felt cared for and trusted that he was focused on the necessary followup to assure our safety. Heinz is very good at his job.

Kim Koch

I had furnace venting replaced. This company is efficient and very professional. You know who is coming to do the work and given notice of when they’ll arrive. Heinz was very knowledgeable, professional, was not bothered by all my questions. He gave full explanations, reasons why, and great advice on maintenance care. He showed that he cared about what he was doing and was very efficient in getting the work done quickly. I highly recommend this company and Heinz.

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