If you have just moved into a new home or even if it is just a rental, if you are planning on spending the winter there, it might be a good idea to remember to wrap any water pipes that you can gain access to. Most people who have owned a home for a while know all about this necessity, but if it is your first home, you might not think about it until it is too late. Well, it is likely that your parents mentioned it to you when you were younger, but you did not understand fully why they did it.



So, why wrap them? When the temperature outside falls below around twenty degrees Fahrenheit, the water pipes that are in your basement, under your sink, or outside exposed to these temperatures can become frozen and will burst. This will not only cause your water bill to go up if you do not notice this right away (and you should, unless you are away on vacation), but also cause water damage to the inside of your home depending on which pipe was ruptured.

Any pipes that you can reach easily should be wrapped up in some kind of insulation and if you can manage to get warm air to any of these pipes, it is a good idea to do so. Keeping the pipes above freezing is not too difficult if you have some good common sense.

The first thing to do is to open your bathroom and kitchen cabinets so that any heat inside your home can reach the water pipes inside. Even if your home is not being heated by a central heat and air system, you can still use space heaters to get this benefit as long as you are careful not to place them close enough to the cabinets for them to catch fire. Careful placement of space heaters is essential if you do not want to start a house fire. Use space heaters with caution.

It is also advised to leave a tad of water running in most faucets during the wintertime; even though your water bill may be a little more every month, but it might be a good idea to do this, anyway. The cost of repairing the water damage a busted pipe can cause far outweighs the little bit of extra you might pay each month during the winter by leaving a little water running all the time.