Tips To Prevent Your Water Pipes From Freezing

Water pipes and meters are most susceptible to freezing when the weather starts turning cold. Special attention should be given when the outdoor air temperature does not rise above zero degrees during the daytime hours. Some tips to help prevent your pipes from freezing in extreme weather include:

• Heat the water meter area or pipes exposed to outside walls. If you will be away, don't turn your heat off. It's not necessary to run it as high as you would if you were at home, but keeping the heat inside in the 60s will help keep your pipes warm.
• Provide ventilation to pipes allowing warmer air to circulate around them. A good way of helping the interior heat reach your pipes is to leave closet and cabinet doors open. Insulate or heat pipes that are vulnerable to the cold. This can be done by using standard insulation material or approved heat tape.
• Caulk and seal openings near your meter or pipes. A 1/4-inch gap drains as much heated interior air as a 3x3-inch hole in the wall.
• Shut off and drain all outdoor water supply lines, pipes, and hoses.
• Keep a thin stream of continuous water running about the thickness of a pencil. Moving water is more difficult to freeze, however, this will affect your bill.

Lateral thawing is the customer’s expense if customer neglects to provide or maintain proper insulation or protection for the lateral according to standard accepted practice, or specific utility instructions, such as the required depth of burial needed to prevent freezing. Customer is responsible for thawing and repairing all water lines and plumbing within the house.