Winter in Central Texas isn’t as brutal as other places, but freezing temperatures can sneak up on us after days of beautiful 70 degree weather. If you’re unprepared, your home can suffer from it. Burst pipes and freezing internal temperatures are not something anyone wants to come home to find, so take the time now to make sure you prepare your house to stay warm this winter. These 5 tips can help protect your home during the cold weather even if it lasts several days.
1. Wrap any exposed pipes and external faucets.
One of the most dangerous results from cold weather is frozen pipes that could potentially burst. Bursting pipes can cause significant damage, so do everything you can to prevent your pipes from freezing. Cover external faucets with plastic covers. Exposed pipes either in your garage, attic or external walls need to be wrapped with pipe covers or you can use specialized wiring that will gently heat pipes whenever the built-in temperature gauge reaches a certain low temperature.
2. Keep your home heated to at least 60 degrees.
Another precaution to keep the water flowing through your home is to make sure the temperature inside stays high enough to balance out the cold outside, maintaining a warmer temperature for the pipes inside your walls. The temperature inside your walls can become much colder than what the wall actually feels like. Freezing pipes in the walls can be the most destructive, causing flooding and damage to sheet rock, flooring and possessions, so paying a little extra in heating costs can save you money in damage repair to your home.
3. Turn your faucets on just enough to drip slowly.
Another method to fight against freezing pipes is to keep water flowing. Just running the faucet on a slow drip can create enough water flow to make it more difficult for your pipes to freeze.
4. If you’re using a space heater, keep it several feet from anything combustible.
When using space heaters for added warmth, keep them away from fabric, paper and other combustible material. It might not seem like that little heater could get hot enough to start a fire, but according to the National Fire Protection Association, a third of home fires in 2011 were caused by space heaters.
5. Bring in pets and plants.
Just because they’re furry doesn’t mean the cold won’t affect your pets. Bring them inside along with any potted plants, even if it’s just into your garage. Cover plants that can’t be moved with sheets, tarps or blankets to prevent them from freezing.
