COLD WEATHER TIPS

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Author:  Pennsylvania American Water

Description

Great information about protecting from frozen pipes and fixing if you have the problem

ABOUT WEATHER AND YOUR WATER PIPES

There are 3 important stages involved for you here and you need to be involved;

PHASE 1  Before cold weather sets in;

1. Know the areas of your home – such as basements, crawl spaces,  unheated rooms and outside walls, are most vulnerable to freezing.
2. Eliminate sources of cold air near water lines by fixing windows, insulating walls, closing crawl spaces, and eliminating drafts.
3. Protect exposed pipes by wrapping them with heat tape or insulation available at your local hardware store.
4. If your meter is outside, make sure your meter lid is closed tightly and let any snow that falls covers it.  Snow acts as insulation, so do not disturb it.
5. Make sure everyone in your home knows where the main water shut off valve is and how to turn it off and on.  If a pipe freezes or bursts, shut the water off immediately.
6. Disconnect garden houses and, if you have an indoor valve for the outside faucet(s), shut it off and drain the water from pipes leading to outside faucets.
7. To save wear and tear on your cooling system, drain any hoses and air conditioner pipes and check for excess water pooled in the equipment.
8. Keep your water heater temperature around 120 degrees and install inexpensive low-flow shower heads to reduce hot water usage.  Lowering the temperature to 120 degrees could reduce water heating costs also.
9. Turn off and drain any irrigation systems.
10. If no one will be home for an extended period of time during extreme winter weather consider contacting your water company to maybe have the water turned off altogether and having a plumber draining the system.  That way, if your furnace stops working, there will be no water in your pipes to freeze.  Please be aware water company to water company may vary but there maybe charges for turning systems on and off.

PHASE 2 When temperatures consistently fall below freezing;

1. Allow a small trickle of water to run overnight to keep pipes from freezing.  The cost of the extra water is typically low compared to the cost to repair broken pipes.
2. Open cabinet doors to expose the pipes to warmer rom temperatures to help keep them from freezing – yes a further cost but as above may be far less than facing repair costs.

PHASE 3 – If your pipes freeze:

1. 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 that will leak when thawed.
2. Apply heat to the frozen pipes by warming the air around it.  Avoid the use of kerosene heaters or open flames.
3. Once the pipes have thawed, turn the water back on slowly and check for more cracks and/or leaks.