02/12/2021
As the coldest weather in years moves into Arkansas, here are a few tips to prevent damage to your homes and also, to keep your family safe.
1.Disconnect your outside hoses, then cover the faucet.
2. Leave the hot and cold water lines dripping at the sink closest to the outside. Extremely important to remember the hot tap.
3. Open the cabinets under the sink in the evening to transfer some heat from your house to the pipes.
4. Concerning fireplaces, if you haven’t used your fireplace in a while, look up inside it to see if you see any obstructions or heavy creosote build up. Don’t use it if you have any doubt.
5. Start with a small fire to make sure your chimney draws the smoke outside.
6. Never burn soft woods such as pine and cedar. Also never use wood scraps such as 2x4’s. This causes a flammable soot to build up on the chimney liner. Chimney fires are the number one cause of residential house fires.
7. Space heaters work great and are economical to run, but keep this in mind. A 1500 watt heater should be about the only thing running on that circuit. It would be ok to have a lamp or something plugged in, but something like a toaster, hair dryer, or heaven forbid, another heater will definitely throw the breaker causing stress on your wiring which leads to burnt wires around your breaker. (Saw this on an inspection Wednesday).
8. Turn the space heater off before going to bed.
Stay safe and comfortable the next few days, Bryan Dearasaugh.
