City of Windsor Heights recently issued the following announcement.
When temperatures drop, the risk of your pipes freezing jumps. That's because water expands as it freezes and this expansion can break metal or plastic pipes. This could cause thousands of dollars in property damage. But here are some simple steps from the Red Cross to prevent this problem.
How to Prevent Frozen Pipes
- Keep garage doors closed.
- Open kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors.
- Let cold water drip from a faucet.
- Keep the thermostat set to the same temperature during the day and night.
- If you are out of town, keep the heat set to no lower than 55 degrees.
- Add insulation to basements, attics, and crawl spaces.
- If you turn on your faucet and only a trickle comes out, it's likely that the pipe is frozen.
- Keep the faucet open so water can come out as the pip begins to thaw.
- Apply heat to the frozen section of the pipe using an electric heating pad, hairdryer, portable space heater, or wrap pipes with towels soaked in hot water.
- Do not use a blowtorch, kerosene or propane heater, charcoal stove, or other open flame devices.
- Apply heat until the water pressure is back to normal.
Check all other faucets for other frozen pipes.
Original source can be found here.
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