Cold Weather Tips
We are about to see some very cold weather in the next 3 days and perhaps some ice/snow. The temperatures will be below freezing for all of 3 days. Our plumbing is not designed to withstand temperatures of 5-8 degrees unless precautions are taken. Here are some suggestions:
1. The pipes that are susceptible to freezing are the two outdoor faucets on your house. If that pipe freezes, it will burst inside your walls and you will have a mess. Remember--water expands when it freezes. You should do 2 things. First, locate the shutoff valve for the outdoor faucets (usually in garage or basements) and turn it off and then open the outdoor faucet to drain the line. Then, buy an "outdoor faucet cover" at Home Depot (less than $2.50) and install it on the outdoor faucet (very easy to do). You must do all of this before the cold weather gets here. At a minimum, you should install the "outdoor faucet cover".
2. During the cold nights, open all kitchen/bathroom cabinet doors that have plumbing on an outside wall. This will get a little more heat to those pipes. Consider keeping a little higher temperature on your thermostat during the cold nights. You also can consider letting your indoor faucets drip a small amount of water all night because running water is less susceptible to freezing. Consider turning up more heat in your basement where all the pipes are located.