How To Insulate Plumbing Pipes 

When the colder months of the year start coming around you will want to protect your plumbing pipes from freezing by insulating them with pipe insulation or maybe even heat tape if need be.

Let’s first talk about the different ways that you can insulate a pipe and what types of insulation there are.

Most pipe insulation that is made for residential use is made from either a foam or a lightweight rubber material. This insulation usually comes in 5 foot stick sections and has the option of a split seam or no seam at all.

You will want to use the pipe insulation with the seam on existing plumbing and the non seam pipe insulation on any new installation of plumbing pipes.

You can find most many types of pipe insulation at your local plumbing supply house or hardware store and the nice part is that pipe insulation is not that expensive in price,

its usually around $4 a stick and up depending on what your pipe size is.

The other type of pipe insulation or actually a method of insulating a pipe would be to use something called heat tape. Heat tape is exactly what it sounds like, its a tape that you wrap around your plumbing and then you power it with electric and it will keep your plumbing warm enough so that it does not freeze.

The proper way to insulate your plumbing is to cover all the areas of the pipe so that none of the pipe is exposed. You will want to cut your corners of the pipe insulation on a 45 degree angle so that they can match up with each other for the best seal and to keep that cold air out.