If a plumbing pipe in your home bursts, it could inflict major damage on your property and cost a substantial amount of money to repair. Here are some steps you can take to prevent this type of incident from occurring:
Insulate your home's water pipes
One of the best ways to keep the water pipes of your home intact is to insulate the ones which are located in areas of the property that are not heated (such as the loft, basement or garage, for example). These are the pipes which will be most susceptible to bursting when the temperatures drop during the autumn and winter months.
This is because, without protective insulation, the water in these pipes may freeze when the chillier weather arrives. Due to the fact that water expands when it turns into ice, this could place a great deal of pressure on the pipes and could potentially lead to them bursting open (particularly if the pipe in question is old and not in good condition).
Wrapping some insulating foam around these pipes (and using masking tape to secure it) will help to ensure that the water that runs through them never freezes, even during periods of the year when the temperatures drop below freezing.
Address minor plumbing issues promptly
A minor plumbing issue could eventually result in one of the pipes in your house bursting if you do not have one of your local plumbers repair it promptly.
For example, if you notice that the water is taking longer than it normally does to drain out of your kitchen or bathroom sink, there could be a blockage that is preventing the liquid from moving through the pipe.
If you call in a plumber at this stage, they should be able to use a drain snake or chemical solvents to either dislodge or extract the blockage in a matter of minutes and thus prevent it from causing any major damage.
However, if you ignore this problem, the blockage could continue to increase in size. If it becomes extremely large, not only will the water stop draining out of your home's sinks, but the obstruction could also strain the pipe to such an extent that it breaks. This, in turn, could result in both the contents of the blockage and the water inside the pipe seeping out onto the nearby floor. Having the pipe replaced and the water damage repaired could end up costing several hundred dollars.
As such, it is sensible to call a plumber the moment you notice any minor plumbing problems.
