A Deep Freeze is Coming - Is Your Home Ready?

Local forecasters are predicting a possible single-digit freeze by Monday morning, February 1st. Such frigid temperatures will surely freeze many water pipes as well as vegetation. Our friends at Cheap Scapes Landscaping will handle the plants, we'd like to talk about protecting your home.

Here are a few things you can do to prepare before the freeze:

• Disconnect and drain hoses from outdoor faucets.
• Turn off and drain sprinkler systems and backflow devices and wrap them with insulating material. An old cloth, shirt or even newspaper will work.
• Cover foundation vents and crawl spaces with cardboard, plywood, foam blocks or thickly folded newspaper.
• Insulate pipes in all unheated areas. These include the garage, attic, basement, and crawl spaces.
• Make sure everyone knows how to turn off the water incase of emergency.
• If your home has areas where you can feel a draft coming through, pick up a can of insulating foam sealant.

During the freeze:

• Many people don't realize it can reach freezing temperatures inside your bathroom and kitchen cabinets. Open the cabinet doors under the sinks to let interior heat warm the pipes. This is especially important where plumbing is in an exterior wall.
• Temporarily keep a steady, but slow trickle of cold and hot water at every inside faucet, including the bathtub.
• Shut off the water and set your thermostat to 55 degrees if you are leaving your house for more than a day. If you will be away for an extended amount of time, consider contacting your utility company to have your water shut off at the meter.

If your pipes do freeze:

• Never use an open flame to thaw a frozen pipe! A hair dryer or exhaust from a vacuum cleaner are safer alternatives.
• If the pipes are frozen, assume they are broken and purchase leak clamps at a hardware store so you can be prepared to turn your water off when the pipes thaw.
• If there is no water at your home, the problem may be in the street. Call your utility company to find out.
• If your pipes break, turn the water off at the shut-off valve and turn off the circuit breaker or the gas to the hot water heater.

We at Homework Solutions hope you find this helpful and hope you stay warm and toasty in the coming freeze!