If your home is equipped with a water heater, your utility bills probably reflect high consumption rates.  Next to air conditioning, water heaters are the second largest energy user among home appliances.  While you may consider the added expense as a good price to pay for the convenience of having hot water every time you need it, you can actually save some money if you insulate your water lines.  This can be a moderately easy task for a homeowner, even one without any skills in plumbing.  This post, which combines expert advice from both Atlanta plumbers and Boston plumbers, takes you through the process.

Insulating your pipes will require foam pipe insulation tubes.  To determine how much you need, find a starting point on your water lines and tote a notepad, a pen and a measuring tape.  Measure the diameter and jot it down, then note the length of the water line until it changes diameter.  Continue until you have measured the entire length that you want to insulate.  Simply add all the lengths for each pipe diameter, and buy about five feet extra so that you can be sure you have enough.  Talk to a store representative about the project so that you can ask for recommendations on which material to buy.

Once back home, inspect the insulation pipes.  You will notice that it is split lengthwise and a protector film covers the adhesive on the inside diameter.  Simply spread the insulation wrap over the water line and cut it to size as needed.  After that, you simply need to pull the plastic strips from the adhesive and push the lengthwise seams of the tube together to bond it securely to the water line.  Continue doing this until the entire length is insulated with the proper-sized insulation tube.  In between lengths of insulation, use foam insulation tape to keep it sealed tight.