Key takeaways
- Winter: protect exposed pipes, disconnect hoses, and know where your main shut-off is.
- Spring: clear gutters and downspouts, and check sump pumps before the first big storm.
- Summer: keep indoor humidity down and watch for condensation on ducts and cold pipes.
- Fall: clean gutters again, inspect the roof, and winterize outdoor faucets before the first freeze.
Winter: the frozen pipe season
Kentucky sits in a band where winter temperatures hover around freezing for weeks at a time, then drop hard for a few days. That pattern is worse for plumbing than a consistently cold climate, because pipes do not stay cold enough to be treated as a permanent risk, and then a sudden deep freeze catches them unprepared. Pipes burst on the coldest night of an arctic front, and the water does not appear until the pipe thaws.
Before the first hard freeze, disconnect garden hoses and shut off and drain the outdoor spigots if they have their own interior valves. Insulate any pipe that runs through an unheated space, including the crawl space, the garage, and the run of pipe along the inside of an exterior wall. Foam sleeves are cheap and effective. On nights below about 20 degrees, open cabinet doors under sinks on exterior walls so warm indoor air reaches the pipes, and let a faucet on an exterior wall drip slightly. Moving water freezes far more slowly than still water.
If you leave for a winter trip, do not simply turn the heat down to the minimum. Keep the house at least in the mid-50s, or shut the water off at the main and drain the lines. The most expensive burst pipe claims come from homes that were empty when the freeze happened and were not discovered for days.
What to check before storm season
Kentucky spring brings severe thunderstorms, and late winter and spring are when the Ohio River and its tributaries rise. The storm prep that pays off is done before the first system arrives.
- Clean gutters and downspouts. A clogged gutter sends water down the wall and into the foundation instead of away from it.
- Check that downspouts discharge several feet from the foundation and that the ground slopes away from the house.
- Test the sump pump by pouring water into the pit and watching it cycle. Replace the battery in any backup pump.
- Look for cracks in the foundation and seal them before they are under water pressure.
- Trim tree limbs away from the roof to reduce the chance of a limb puncturing shingles in high wind.
- Set up a weather alert on your phone so you get the warning while you can still move things off the floor.
If your neighborhood has flooded before, know your evacuation route and keep important documents in a waterproof container that can be grabbed quickly. Floodwater can arrive with very little notice in the narrow valleys of eastern Kentucky, where a storm upstream can send water down a hollow in minutes.
Summer: humidity and condensation
Kentucky summers are humid, and indoor humidity above roughly 60 percent is enough to keep building materials damp enough to support mold growth. Run the air conditioner rather than relying on open windows, and use exhaust fans in bathrooms and kitchens so the moisture from showers and cooking leaves the house instead of settling into the walls.
Watch for condensation on cold surfaces in summer. Water beading on the supply ducts in a basement, dripping from a cold water pipe, or running down the outside of a toilet tank all mean the air around them is too humid, and the surface they are dripping onto is getting wet every day. In a basement, a dehumidifier with a hose to a floor drain solves most of this. Air conditioning also produces condensate, and a clogged condensate drain line is a classic summer water damage call. Pour a cup of water into the drain pan once a month to confirm it flows freely.
Fall: getting ahead of the freeze
Fall is the second gutter season, and it is the one that matters most. Leaves that collect in gutters through October and November will be freezing and thawing in December, and ice dams at the roof edge are how water gets behind the shingles and into the ceiling. Clear the gutters and downspouts after the leaves fall, not before.
Inspect the roof from the ground with binoculars for lifted or missing shingles, and check the flashing around chimneys and vents. Have the furnace serviced, and check the condensate line and pump if you have a high-efficiency unit, since those produce water all winter. Drain and store hoses, shut off outdoor faucets, and clean the sump pit so it is ready for the spring melt. If you have a fireplace or wood stove, make sure the chimney flashing is sound before winter weather tests it.
The three habits that prevent the most damage
First, know where your main water shut-off is and confirm it actually turns. Standing in a flooded hallway trying to find a valve you have never used is the worst possible time to learn. Second, check under every sink and around every water-using appliance twice a year. Supply lines and hoses have a service life, and a stainless braided line that has started to fray or a rubber washing machine hose with a bulge should be replaced before it fails. Third, fix small leaks when they are small.
A $12 toilet flapper that is left alone becomes a warped subfloor, a stained ceiling on the floor below, and a mold problem. The pattern behind nearly every major water loss is a minor leak that was noticed and postponed. If you see something damp and you are not sure whether it is serious, call (888) 217-5329 and describe it. A five-minute phone conversation costs nothing and often settles the question.
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