Upcoming Colder Weather and frozen pipes

9/23/2022 (Permalink)

Pipe with water flowing out

As of this date on September 23^rd of 2022 in SE the temperatures are reminding us more of the weather that’s ahead. On arrival to the office the outside temperature was 42 degrees. Just 11 more degrees and water begins to freeze. The crisp air reminded me that we inch closer and closer to snow, ice, and a cold winter.

After cold weather persists day in and day out in the negative temperatures usually in the months of January and February pipes are most susceptible to freeze, causing them to burst. It only takes exposed pipes to be in temperatures of 20 degrees for a few hours before they can freeze and burst. Most of us can remember when ice storms hit Texas and being that Texas doesn’t experience cold temperatures pipes burst everywhere and caused nearly 10.3 BILLION dollars of damage.

As you can see frozen pipes are no joke so you may be asking what can I do to prevent this in my home?

First off you can let water drip from the faucet. Keeping water running through the pipes will help them prevent freezing. Another thing that will help prevent this is keeping garage doors closed if there are water supply lines that run through the garage. Next up, if you are going away to chase warmer weather during the winter months, be sure to keep the heat on in your home. You can also insulate your pipes. Although this may be slightly more costly than the other options it will be much less expensive that a water loss caused by a burst pipe.

With National Preparedness month being this month, we hope this gave you useful information to be prepared for the inevitable cold weather that is coming.