PROTECTING YOUR PIPES FROM COLD WEATHER

Don't wait until the last minute to protect your pipes from freezing. The following tips offer advice on how to prevent damage to pipes from occurring during severe winter weather.

Safety Tips:

• Insulate any and all pipes that are vulnerable to cold air. This can be done by using standard insulation material or through the use of Underwriters Laboratories (UL listed) approved heat tapes. Wrapping your pipes helps keep the warmth in and the freezing cold out.
• Keep your heat on. It sounds obvious, but many people forget, especially when leaving home for a few days. If you go on vacation or will be away, don't turn your heat off. It's not necessary to run it as high as you would if you were at home, but keeping the heat inside in the 60s will help you keep the pipes warm. Remember this: It may be 65 degrees outside when you leave on vacation, but autumn and spring weather routinely turn warm afternoons into sub-freezing cold in only a few hours. We've all seen heat waves give way to sudden cold fronts.
• Keep cabinet and closet doors open. When you leave your heat on to keep your pipes warm, a good way of helping the interior heat reach your pipes is to leave closet and cabinet doors open. This is especially important if the pipes are near uninsulated exterior walls. The more closed doors you have between interior heat and exterior wall pipes, the better your chance of those pipes freezing (since the heat can't get to them).
• Keep water moving to prevent it from freezing. Keep a faucet or faucets open slightly to keep water moving in the pipes. Ideally, the faucet(s) you leave on should be farthest from where the water main enters. That way, you keep water moving throughout all your pipes. When water is moving, it doesn't freeze as easily. And by leaving a faucet open, you give slightly expanding water somewhat of an outlet.
• Cut the water supply to outdoor faucets. Since you probably won't need your outdoor faucets in the colder months, it's a good idea to cut off the water and completely drain them. If you don't do this, you run the risk of pipes bursting just inside your home.
• Shut off the water if you go away. If you're simply going to be away from home for a few days or more, you may want to shut off your water completely and drain your supply by opening the lowest faucet in the house. It's also a good idea to have a trusted neighbor come into your home periodically to check for water damage.