Winter can be tough on pre built homes, and when the temperatures start to swing from above freezing to below, it puts a great deal of stress on your home’s exterior and interior.
If your power should unexpectedly go out, and you don’t have a backup source of heat, your pipes could freeze quickly and burst. The best way to avoid this is by having a backup generator. If you don’t’ have a backup power supply, you can prevent damage to your property by taking a few precautionary steps.
Before the Weather Turns Cold
Outdoors you should make sure that your sprinkler system and pool are prepped by draining the supply lines and covering the pool. Drain, remove, and store all of your hoses safely in a shed or your garage.
Turn off the water supply to all exterior hose spigots and drain any remaining water. If you cannot do this, cover all of the spigots with insulated faucet covers.
Architectural Elements of Manufactured HomesAny exposed pipes outside or under your pre built home in the crawl space need to be insulated with heat tape. Any walls in your living space that have pipes running through them also need to be properly insulated to prevent the pipes from freezing when it is extremely cold.
During a Cold Snap
If you’re made aware ahead of time that a cold snap is coming, there are precautionary steps you can take to keep your plumbing safe in the event that you lose power and heat. Do the following as soon as possible to avoid problems.
Prevent loss of heat by keeping any access points in your home closed. All doors, windows, and crawlspace accesses should be stay shut. Keeping heat trapped in pre built homes will ensure that it takes longer for the temperature in the house to drop below freezing.
Keep your kitchen and bathroom doors and cabinets open so that as much heat as possible can reach the walls where the pipes are located.
Allow water to trickle from the faucets in your home. If you can keep water pressure and keep water moving through your plumbing system, it’s less likely to freeze.
If you are able to keep your heating system working, do your best to keep the temperature in your home above 55 degrees F for as long as you can. This will help you ensure that you’ve got enough heat to penetrate the walls and fight the persistent cold.
Hopefully once the cold spell passes, you’ll find that your plumbing made it through without incident. If so, you can turn off the trickling faucets and close all of your cabinet doors.
If any of your pipes are frozen, thaw them gently with a hair dryer or small heater. Call a plumber to replace and cracked pipes as soon as you find them.
Winter can take its toll on pre built homes, but with the right preparations, your home can make it through the winter unscathed.
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