Beat the leaks~~

November and December’s fast approach only means one thing:  Winter is coming!  Cold, snowy, rainy days lie ahead.  I don’t know about you, but I’d rather be in my warm, comfortable house relaxing on the couch than out in the freezing cold repairing a water leak!  Here are a few quick fixes you can make now to keep you warm and dry on the cold days.

1.  Wrap pipes in pipe insulation.  This can be found at most home improvement stores.
2. Open cabinet doors to allow the warmer air to circulate around the pipe.
3. Let your faucet drip.  A small drip will allow the water to keep moving.
4. Fix cracks in crawl spaces and foundations.  Cracks allow cold air in and may possibly freeze your pipes.

If you do get a frozen pipe:

• DO NOT use a torch to thaw the pipe.  You risk burning down your house!!
• DO NOT try to thaw out the meter by starting a fire in the meter box.  This will damage your meter and create costly damages that you will have to pay.
• DO turn up the heat inside if possible.  Opening up the cabinets will also help the heat reach the frozen pipe.
• DO use a hair dryer to thaw the pipe.
• DO use hot water to thaw the pipe.  If you know where the blockage is, pouring hot water over will help.

So do some preventive maintenance and Beat Those Leaks!!!