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Tips to prevent water pipes in a mobile home from freezing:
1. Insulate pipes: Use pipe insulation sleeves or heat tape to wrap around exposed pipes, especially those located in exterior walls or under the mobile home.
2. Seal drafts: Seal any gaps or cracks in the skirting, windows, doors, and vents to prevent cold air from entering and reaching the pipes.
3. Keep heat on: Maintain a consistent temperature inside the mobile home, even when you’re away. Set the thermostat to a minimum of 55°F (12°C) to prevent pipes from freezing.
4. Open cabinet doors: Leave cabinet doors under sinks open to allow warm air to circulate around the pipes.
5. Drip faucets: During extremely cold weather, let faucets drip slightly to keep water moving and prevent freezing.
6. Disconnect hoses: Disconnect garden hoses and drain any remaining water to prevent water from freezing and damaging the pipes.
By following these preventive measures, you can reduce the risk of frozen water pipes in your mobile home.
When you wake up on a extremely cold morning and discover that there is no water coming out of the faucets in your mobile home, the last thing you want to do is go outside and search for frozen pipes on the frozen ground. It can also be costly to hire a plumber to fix the frozen pipes, especially if they have already burst. To ensure that the water pipes in your mobile home stay warm regardless of the weather, take some preventive measures at the beginning of winter and throughout the cold months.
Inspecting Your Skirting
If your mobile home has skirting (as opposed to being built on a foundation), carefully inspect it for any gaps or cracks. Even small holes in the skirting can allow freezing air to enter the space under the home where the pipes are exposed. It is ideal to replace any broken sections of the skirting before winter. If you find any small gaps, use clear weather-resistant tape designed for outdoor use to seal them.
Ensure that the vents in the mobile home skirting are closed during freezing temperatures. Automatic vents will close themselves when the weather gets cold enough. If you have manual vents, close them when the forecast predicts freezing weather. Remember to reopen them when the temperature rises.
Checking and Testing Heat Tape
Checking your heat tape is one of the most important steps in winterizing for mobile homeowners in cold climates. Heat tape is a simple product that is wound around exposed pipes and plugged into an electrical source. A small thermostat on the tape comes into contact with the pipe. When the pipe reaches a certain temperature, electricity flows through the heating element inside the cable, warming the pipe to prevent freezing.
Make sure that the heat tape is attached to any exposed pipes outside your mobile home. It is not a permanent solution, so test the heat tape at the beginning of each winter. Plug in the heat tape and press a thermometer against a bag of ice. If the thermostat and cable are working properly, the heat tape should start to feel warm to the touch. If it still feels cold after 30 minutes, replace the heat tape.
Adding Pipe Insulation
In extremely cold weather, it is beneficial to add extra layers to both your body and your pipes. Sliding foam pipe insulation sleeves onto exposed pipes outside and underneath your mobile home will help keep the water flowing in all weather conditions. Pipe insulation can be added on top of heat tape. If the water pipes outside and underneath your mobile home do not already have foam pipe insulation, measure the width of the pipe (including the heat tape) so that you can choose the correct size insulation for a snug fit.
Allowing Faucets to Trickle
Leaving faucets running continuously throughout the day and night is not good for your water bill or the environment, but it may be worth the cost to prevent frozen pipes. Leave one faucet open to a trickle when temperatures drop below freezing. Allowing a small amount of water to flow through your pipes may prevent them from freezing.
