01/12/2024
TIPS FOR TO HELP AVOID FREEZING PIPES:
During freezing weather:
• Make sure you heat all rooms of your house that have plumbing fixtures. Water pipes in unheated rooms are subject to freezing and could cause extensive damage.
• Leave the cabinet doors open to allow the heat from the room to enter if you have pipes that are located on an outside wall.
• Keep meter box lids closed during winter months to prevent cold air from freezing the meter. Don’t remove snow if you don’t have to. It helps insulate the meter.
• If you have experienced problems in the past during freezing periods and you have exhausted all other solutions, you can leave a trickle of water running from the faucet highest in the house. This trickle should be a steady stream slightly larger than the lead of a pencil.
If you have a frozen pipe:
• NEVER thaw a frozen pipe with an open flame. You may start a fire!
• Use hot air from a hair dryer, the exhaust from a vacuum cleaner, heat lamps, heat tape, or electric heaters to thaw a frozen pipe.
• Also consider using an incandescent lightbulb to thaw pipes slowly, by placing it next to pipes that are frozen. Be sure to keep the bulb away from combustible material to avoid starting a fire. Today’s LED bulbs don’t let off much heat and likely won’t be useful for this purpose.
