What is a frost free faucet?
Frost-free faucets are outdoor faucets that are designed to be able to handle freezing temperatures without breaking. It does this by having its own built-in drainage system to prevent water from building up within the stopper’s area and having its water pipes located somewhere along with the warm areas of your home.
Does dripping water prevent outside faucets from freezing?
To sum it all up, dripping does not help prevent outside faucets from freezing. Instead, you need to drain the water pipe connected to the faucet and insulate it. Outdoor faucets are one of the most exposed water fixtures in your home, don’t expect that you’ll be able to use them often throughout winter if you want to avoid any freezing.
How to know if you need to drip your faucets
Before you get ahead of yourself, it’s essential to make sure that your home is already adequately insulated and heated. Dripping your faucets isn’t going to do much if your pipes are constantly exposed to cold temperatures and are not protected from them.
Why would you drip your faucets?
As the name implies, dripping your faucets simply boils down to just allowing a bit of water to run through your faucet within a specific time frame (when the outside temperature drops to 20 degrees Fahrenheit). The rationale behind dripping is that running water is a lot less likely to freeze.
Reading your plumbing plans
You always start reading your water plumbing system plans from the main gate valve and the meter; this is where all the water comes from.
Does dripping help my wastage pipes?
Yes, dripping will also help prevent your wastage pipes from freezing. Still and unmoving water will always be susceptible to freezing. Since you’re consistently adding water to that system, the movement inside your wastage pipe will help prevent it from freezing.
How to drip your faucets
Here are a few tips as well as guidelines for dripping your faucets. It’s not a complicated topic, so we’ll be giving the simple basics and an explanation for them.
When not to drip your faucets
With all these benefits of dripping mentioned, there will be times when dripping doesn’t work well. There are two main scenarios in which you should not allow your faucets to drip:
Do I need to drip faucets on my second floor?
No, you do not need to drip the faucets of your second floor. Heat tends to move upwards, so the pipes located on your home’s upper levels should be safer than those found on the ground/basement level. This is assuming that you have enough insulation installed and a heating system in your home.
How to prevent water pipes from freezing?
Letting your faucets dripping is one way to prevent freezing and bursting of water pipes. There are a couple of additional measures that you can take to be thorough: 1 Look around the house, inside and outside, and see if there are any openings where the air could get in. Seal these properly, either yourself or get it done by a professional. 2 Keep the kitchen sink cabinets and bathrooms open so that they are also kept warm through the heating system of the house. 3 Apply heating tape to the pipes that are most prone to freezing, the ones located in the non-heated areas of the house.
How to prevent frozen pipes?
One solution to prevent frozen pipes is to let your home faucets drip. A dripping faucet keeps the water mobile in your plumbing system and relieves any pressure that may be building up within the pipes. Here are some situations when it’s ideal to leave faucet dripping to avoid freezing pipes.
Where are pipes located in a house?
The pipes located in the unheated spaces within your house are at a greater risk of bursting. These places may include your attic, garage, or your bathroom. Pipes located around the exterior wall of the house are at an even higher risk.
How to keep air out of house?
Seal these properly, either yourself or get it done by a professional. Keep the kitchen sink cabinets and bathrooms open so that they are also kept warm through the heating system of the house.
