Winter Maintenance, Frozen Pipes & Hoses

With winter upon us here in north central Maryland, there are certain maintenance tasks that should have been completed by the homeowner. These tasks range from disconnecting your garden hoses to having your chimney cleaned. We are going to present a list of items you should check and prepare for and explain the importance and the damage that could occur, as well as the best practices on how to perform these tasks.

Winter Maintenance Check List

- Garden Hose Spigots

- Water to Unheated out buildings

- Garden Faucets

- Gutters and Down Spouts

- Window and Stair Drains

- Gardening Accessories

> Birdbaths

> Flowerpots

> Hummingbird Feeders

> Livestock/Pet Watering

- Pool and Spa Drainage

- Ponding/Ice

> Storm Drains

> Drainage Pipes

> Yard Drains

- Exterior Lighting

- Open Windows

- Weather Stripping

- Heat & A/C Filters

- Furnace Tune-Up

- Chimney/Fireplace/Woodstove Cleaning

- Smoke/Carbon Monoxide (CO) Detectors

WOW! That is an extensive list of things to do!

Fear Not!! We are going to make this easy for you. First, get your list and scratch out the items you don't have. Now be careful and think about it, some homeowners have these items but don't know about them. I will give an explanation of each item that will help you decide if you need to worry about it. It is a good idea to walk around your home and inside and out and take note of it’s condition. This is a good time to take your list and look for the items on it and write down any damaged items whether they are on your list or not.

Garden hoses should be removed from spigots(valves) and if your spigot is not frost free it should be turned off inside the house and left open on the outside to allow the water to drain out and dry.

Unheated out buildings and Garden Faucets should be turned off and drained, I prefer to blow the water out with compressed air. Examples would be detached garages, sheds and barns with water. Garden faucets are the standpipes in the yard where you can connect a hose, these often are frost free, but not all are and many are not deep enough to prevent freezing even if they are frost free.

Gutters and Downspouts need to be cleaned to ensure proper drainage and downspout outlets should be at least 10 inches from the ground to prevent freezing. Check out our Blog on Ice Damming for more information.

Window and Stair Drains commonly have leaves, grass and other debris in them. They need to be checked periodically and cleaned as needed. A clogged window or stair drain can cause water to back up and flood into a basement or other lower living areas.

Gardening Accessories can be damaged and cracked by freezing. Bird Baths, Livestock/Pet Watering containers can have bubblers or heaters installed to prevent them from freezing and still allowing animals to use them. Hummingbird Feeders should be drained and washed out and put back out in the spring. Hummingbirds migrate south in the winter and won't be here to use them; however, they will need the energy in the early spring for their migration north. Some Flowerpots don't have drains and even the ones that do can become filled with water when the soil freezes and clogs the drain. When this happens, the pots will most surely be cracked when the ice expands.

Pools and Spas need to be winterized to prevent damage. The manufacturer should be consulted and winter maintenance performed according to their specifications. There are too many possible scenarios to discuss here. At minimum most units require draining below a certain point or completely and removing water from any piping or devices that can freeze and break.

Ponding/Ice Anywhere you have ponding you can have ice. That includes, yards, sidewalks, driveways and roads. Ponding can also cause leaking in your foundation as well as settling and cracking of sidewalks and driveways. Storm Drains, Yard drains and Drainage Pipes should be kept clear of all debris including yard waste. Although, the Storm Drain on the road in front of your house belongs to the local municipality, you should keep debris from building up in front of it. Oftentimes grass and leaves are blown on the road and washes down the drain or blocks it. Sometimes people deliberately dispose of yard waste in storm drains, this should never be done, it can cause damage to the storm drains and be very costly to clean out which will be reflected on your tax bill. If you do have a clogged Storm Drain you should call your local Department of Public Works (DPW).

Exterior Lighting The fall is a great time to make sure you don't have any blown out bulb or defective lighting circuits. With winter coming and the onset of shorter days and longer nights you will want to have good quality working Exterior Lighting. It's more fun to look out at a blizzard than it is to change a light bulb in one...

Open Windows This sounds like a stupid subject, BUT..., I can't tell you how many times I have had a complaint about how cold a room was and when I arrived, I found a window not latched and partially open was the cause. I had one customer say, "I haven't been in that room since we did spring cleaning, suddenly this fall there is cold coming out from under the door."

Weather Stripping around windows and doors can get old and cause drafts and energy loss. That doesn't mean you need new windows because you may be able replace the weather stripping cheaper. Just look for loose, cracked or missing pieces.

Heat & A/C Filters in central air systems need to be changed periodically. Most experts say to change then every thirty days, this is a good starting point. I say change them when they are dirty. I know that is an open-ended response, but it is the correct one. You need to get to know your own situation and act accordingly. I have known people that were very clean, vacuumed and dusted all the time and they had clean filters after a year. I have also known people who had dogs with long hair and kids, and they worked in a dusty environment and come home with dirty clothes, and they couldn't go two weeks without changing their filters.

Furnace Tune-Up It is not a bad Idea to get gas and Oil furnaces cleaned and tuned up every year by a professional. In fact, many gas and oil suppliers offer free or low-cost service system checks. If there are multiple suppliers in your area, shop around and look for your best value for supply cost vs. customer service vs. repair/service options. The cheapest rate is not always your best deal. If you have a heat pump and/or electric heat system, you don't necessarily need to have it tuned up every year as they don't pose the same safety hazards as carbon fuel systems do. They main thing with heat pump and electric heat systems is to make sure the indoor and outdoor cooling coils are kept clean. They need sufficient air flow to work properly, these units also double as air conditioning in most case, so spring or fall is a good time to check them, but you don't generally need to do it more than once a year.

Chimney/Fireplaces/Woodstove Cleaning Fireplaces and woodstoves can be a wonderful winter companion in your home. However, they require much respect and some maintenance. They need to be cleaned at minimum annually; at the same time their chimneys also need to be cleaned and inspected for damage.

Smoke/Carbon Monoxide (CO) Detectors Every home in the United States is required to have Smoke Detectors, with most jurisdictions now requiring them for new construction, in all bedrooms and on all levels and they must be interconnected, meaning if one goes off, they all go off. So, if you have a two level three-bedroom house you would need five Smoke Detectors. If you have any carbon fuel heating sources in your home including gas/oil/coal cooking or heating appliances or furnaces, wood stoves or fireplaces you are required to have a Carbon Monoxide (CO) Detector in addition to Smoke Detectors.

The batteries should be replaced in Smoke and Carbon Dioxide (CO) twice a year unless they are the ten-year variety with a sealed battery.

BH Building Service can help you with all your home maintenance needs.

How may we Serve You?

bhbuild@msn.com

Brian@bhbuild.com

443-807-1216

Brian Hastings