Staff Report
With colder weather approaching, Texas Water Utilities is providing tips for people to be equipped to protect their homes from freezing weather.
Water expands when it freezes, which puts tremendous pressure on your home’s pipes and can cause them to break. Texas Water Utilities recommends the following tips to prepare your home in case of a freeze:
• Open cabinets and keep your thermostat to a consistent temperature during the day and night.
• Leave the heat on when going away for vacation during cold weather.
• Insulate pipes and faucets in unheated areas and seal off openings in doors and air vents.
• Drain the swimming pool, shut down your sprinkler system, turn off outside faucets and remove connected hoses.
• If a pipe freezes but hasn’t burst, try to thaw it out with an electric heating pad, hairdryer or towel soaked with hot water.
• Apply heat by slowly moving the heat source toward the coldest spot on the pipes. Never concentrate heat in one area because cracking ice can shatter a line.
More tips and helpful information can be found at www.swwc.com/h2ome/learning-center/preparing-for-cold-weather.
