Photo by sydney Rae on Unsplash
Over the last two days, much of the country has witnessed extreme cold weather, and you may very well have pipes that are frozen and prone to burst when the thaw comes tomorrow.
The most vulnerable points of failure will be your hose bibs where you hook up your garden hoses. If the hose bibs freeze and split, water will be released when the thaw hits and could flood into your basement, behind a finished wall or into your crawl space.
Here are some tips and suggestions that can help you be prepared for the big thaw:
- Know where your main water cutoff is located, and check it out. Close it temporarily and see if the water shuts off in the house by opening inside faucets. Then show your family members where to cut off the water.
- Tonight, check the outside hose bibs to see if water comes out. If not, this is a potential point of failure and should be watched tomorrow both outside and inside if possible.
- In the morning, close the main water to the house and leave a faucet partially open so that the pressure can be relieved. When the thaw hits, you can open the hose bibs and the main water valve, and water should come out of the hose bib. Also check inside the crawl space or basement for potential leaks.
- If you have leaks, shut off the main water line to the house and call a plumber, service technician or pipefitter.
