Putting Water Back In Service After Winterizing
well, i just closed on a foreclosure, that i am going to rehab and flip. This is the first one that i have purchased in the winter, and the water meter was pulled to winterize the home. The municipal water dept has installed the valve, and the water is ready to be turned on, and go back in service. is there anything that anyone would like to add in the way of precautions in putting the system back in service ? i am going to crack open the faucets a little and slowly turn on the water main as to not put the pipes under full load until water is through the system, and the softner and heater have been completly filled. thanks.
Just wanted to let everyone know, i turned the water back on today. Cracked open all faucets quarter turn, turned main on quarter turn. inspected all sinks and drains. did this in four steps, quarter turn at a time at water main. only had 2 sink drains that had leaks, no pipes leaking. let the water heater fill slowly. put system under full load and opened all faucets all the way. shut everything down. No problems. Hope this helps out someone else with same questions. Thanks.
You can do it yourself if you want
To rewinterize, just drain system and put a little antifreeze (the safe kind) down the sink traps and toilet bowls. Some will blow air through the system. Prices vary per plumber, and some banks require a plumber to do this. Some plumbers charge $1,500 to do this.
Use a garden hose to screw on to the hot water heater drain valve to prevent a mess.
Of note: Do not turn the hot water heater breaker on before you fill it with water; otherwise you will burn out the element.
You can inspect the pipes yourself; just use a flashlight and inpect every visible pipe even running your hands on the pipes to feel for the bulges and splits. While waiting for hours for the water meter man, I carefully looked over a hot water system, and am proud to say, I found all leaks except for one with a visual inspection.
Right, thanks.
The house is in a hot resort area. The tax assesment went up 40% this year, market values followed suit.
$2K is not normally a problem but with tax day approaching, I need to hold onto cash. My hit this year is huge.
-WG