As temperatures drop, protect your home!

With extremely cold weather in the forecast, take necessary measures to prevent frozen household pipes. Protect your home by wrapping exposed pipes with insulation and eliminate sources of cold air near any waterlines. We also recommend allowing a small trickle of water to run overnight to keep pipes from freezing. The cost of the water is minimal compared to repairing the damage from bursting pipes. Know the location of your main water shut-off valve. If a pipe freezes or bursts, shut the water off immediately. Do not attempt to thaw frozen pipes unless the water is shut off. To thaw pipes, apply heat from a hair dryer, space heater, or hot water. DO NOT USE a torch or open flame.

Take action now:
•Familiarize yourself with areas of your home most susceptible to freezing, such as basements, crawl spaces, unheated rooms and outside walls.
•Eliminate sources of cold air near water lines by repairing broken windows, insulating walls, closing off crawl spaces and eliminating drafts near doors.
•Locate your main water shut-off valve. If a pipe freezes or bursts, shut the water off immediately.
•Protect your pipes and water meter. Wrap exposed pipes with insulation or use electrical heat tracing wire; newspaper or fabric might also work. For outside meters, keep the lid to the meter pit closed tightly and let any snow that falls cover it. Snow acts as insulation, so don’t disturb it.

When temperatures are consistently at or below freezing:
•If you have pipes that are vulnerable to freezing, allow a small trickle of water to run overnight to keep pipes from freezing. The cost of the extra water is low compared to the cost to repair a broken pipe.
•Open cabinet doors to expose pipes to warmer room temperatures to help keep them from freezing.

If your pipes freeze:
•Shut off the water immediately. Don’t attempt to thaw frozen pipes unless the water is shut off. Freezing can often cause unseen cracks in pipes or joints.
•Apply heat to the frozen pipe by warming the air around it, or by applying heat directly to a pipe. You can use a hair dryer, space heater or hot water. Be sure not to leave space heaters unattended.
•Do not use kerosene heaters or open flames to thaw pipes inside your home.
•Once the pipes have thawed, turn the water back on slowly and check for cracks and leaks.

When you are away:
•Have a friend, relative or neighbor regularly check your property to ensure that the heat is working and the pipes have not frozen.
•Also, a freeze alarm can be purchased for less than $100 and will call a user-selected phone number if the inside temperature drops below 45 degrees.

A Few More Tips to Help Prevent Frozen Pipes

When stationary water inside pipes drops to about 30 degrees Fahrenheit, pipes can freeze. When water freezes, it expands, which can then break pipes, flood interiors and cause major damage. As a preventive measure, it is encouraged for homeowners to take the following steps ahead of the severe winter weather:

• Make sure the lids on outdoor meter pits are not broken or missing....
• Shut off and drain any outside faucets including those for lawn sprinkling systems.
• Prevent drafts in unheated areas, such as crawl spaces or basements, by replacing broken glass or making other repairs.
• Locate and visibly mark the home’s master water valve. In the event that a pipe does break, use this value to turn off water to the home.
• Homeowners can also leave cabinet doors under sinks open to allow warm air to reach pipes. If it is below 10 degrees, customers can also leave a trickle of water (about the size of pencil lead) running overnight.

• Additional precautions to take in any unheated areas of their homes (e.g. outdoor faucets, crawlspaces and garages) when temperatures drop below freezing:
• Make sure to have a supply of heat tape and pipe insulation, as well as a portable space heater and a hair dryer on hand.
• Wrap pipes with insulation material or heat tape and wrap indoor water meters with a blanket.
• Proper and safe use of portable space heaters can also keep exposed pipes in drafty areas from freezing.
• Thaw areas of frozen pipe by using a hair dryer. Hold the dryer six inches from the pipe and move the warm air back and forth. If this does not work, or the pipe is split, call a plumber.