Protecting your pipes against the cold is essential when preparing your rental properties for winter weather. The last thing you need is a rental home with a burst pipe in below-freezing temperatures. Nothing will make your Mill Creek residents more upset than a flooded, frozen home and ruined personal property.
Heat taping and wrapping are two ways to prevent frozen pipes. Heat taping a pipe is when an electrical heating element is taped to a pipe, which heats up the pipe to guard it against freezing temperatures. Alternatively, wrapping a pipe can be completed in a few different ways, from plug-in heating tape to pre-formed foam tube insulation that goes over a pipe. The type of protection your pipes need depends on how cold it gets where your rental property is located. Outdoor water spigots should also be protected with an insulated cover.
You should ensure that the pipes in your rental home are protected before the weather gets cold, but, if you’re always busy with your business responsibilities, how will you find the time to do it? Maybe you’ve considered asking your residents to heat tape or wrap the pipes. However, this isn’t a great option because they might not know what they’re doing, or they might do it incorrectly.
If you find the time, you could do the heat taping and wrapping yourself, but if you don’t know exactly what you’re doing, you’re taking a chance with your investment. Pipe insulation also needs to be changed each year, which adds to your responsibilities as a property owner.
Insulating pipes on your rental property might not be on your to-do list as often as it should be, and that is why hiring someone to manage time-consuming tasks like this can be the best investment you ever make. Real Property Management North Puget Sound will assess and maintain the pipes in your Mill Creek lodging property on a consistent basis, so you don’t have to worry about the pipes freezing and bursting. For more information about our property management services, contact us online or call us at 425-903-8500 today!