Protect your pipes: Some easy tips to avoid a catastrophe

While the weekend’s ice storm is behind us, freezing temperatures are not. In fact, we are expecting lows in the teens by the end of the week and another brutally cold weekend ahead. With that said, you are going to want to protect your water pipes during the freeze.

According to Huntsville Utilities, several customers have called in whose pipes burst over the weekend. This can actually be avoided if you take the proper measures. Here’s what to know:

Protecting your pipes from freezing

In case you might have forgotten this from high school science class, water expands when it freezes, so if it expands, so then do the walls of your water pipes. Eventually, the elasticity reaches its breaking point—literally—and the pipe will burst.

Huntsville Utilities officials told us that, unfortunately, when customers call them about a burst pipe (or multiple pipes), there is not much they can do, since this is a property issue rather than a utilities issue.

What they can do, however, is give some tips to avoid this costly occurrence at your home:

• Allow a pencil lead thin stream of water to drip from your taps.
• Open cabinet doors to allow warm air to circulate around the pipes.
• Disconnect water hoses from outside spigots and use insulated faucet covers for extra protection. 
• Put pipe wraps around your pipes in unconditioned areas to insulate. 
• Maintain an indoor temperature of at least 55 degrees even when the home is unoccupied. 
• Know where the main shut-off valve is located so you can quickly shut off the water in an event a burst pipe.

“We’re expecting temperatures this weekend even colder than what we just went through. Don’t assume that since you were ok then that you’ll be okay now. Take a few minutes to protect your pipes and avoid costly damage.”

Todd Long, Huntsville Utilities

Here’s what the rest of the week looks like, weather-wise:

• Wednesday: Sunny, 40°/23°
• Thursday: Sunny, 43°/26°
• Friday: Partly cloudy, 40°/15°
• Saturday: Partly cloudy, 24°/15°
• Sunday: Partly cloudy, 33°/17°

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