Even in St. Louis, the weather can drop down to extremes that can freeze your pipes. Families assume that simply turning on their heater can prevent the pipes from freezing in their home. The pipes that freeze most commonly are those beneath the kitchen sink, and the frozen water just spreads from there once it takes root. If you are serious about beating the ice on those extremely cold nights, you are going to need some advice to keep your water flowing.
The problem with pipes freezing starts with the fact that the majority of kitchen sinks are positioned along an outer wall of your home. The average American enjoys having a window to look out of while doing the dishes as well, adding to the problem during temperature extremes. This problem is then only compounded by the cabinet doors that block the underside of the sink from view.
In the average American home, these three variables combine to create frozen pipes every year. If you've had difficulties with pipes freezing in the past, make sure to mention it to your St Louis heating company representative during your annual furnace tune up. Your representative will be able to give you advice on how to prevent this problem in the future.
What it boils down to is simple: The heat inside your home does not have a chance to reach the pipes bringing in water under your kitchen sink. The cabinetry that hides this unsightly part of the home from view also prevents the heated air from gaining access to the area underneath of your kitchen sink. Without that added heat, the stationary water in your pipes has nothing to help it stay liquid.
The kitchen sink's position along the outer wall means that the cooler air from outside keeps this area cooler during the winter. As your St Louis heating company can tell you, just as the sun bakes the outside of your home during the summer, warming the exterior walls, the cold can get into the walls as well and create a cooler area immediately adjacent to these walls.
When you add in that window which provides you with a view while doing your dishes, the cold air just seeps right in around those pipes. Windows are the main source of cold air getting into the home during the winter, and this one is no different. The cold air that seeps in turns the metal or ceramic of your sink colder, which in turn spreads into the water pipes beneath the sink.
In order to prevent these pipes from succumbing to the coldest winter nights, you need to take action. Your St Louis heating company representative can show you the best way to prop open your cabinet doors and position fans blowing warm air onto the water pipes here. Add in a properly dripping faucet, and this most common location for pipe freezing to start will see the morning come without a drop of water turned to ice.