12/22/2022
TENANTS:
As you are well aware of, the next few days are predicted to be ridiculously cold with wind chills well below zero. As the news has been saying there is a high risk for plumbing pipes to freeze in these situations. Please hold on to this letter, and follow these tips each and every time it gets really cold out.
I have a few suggestions that hopefully will avoid any issues from coming up in your house.
#1 allow faucets in sinks and tubs/ showers to drip (hot and cold water). Just a few drips per second. Just a very minor flow of water keeps the water flowing and the pipes hopefully will not freeze. This will use next to no water, so there will be no impact on your water bill. Again this is just a very slow run of the pipes. Also, every hour or so when you think about it flush the toilet. If the toilet is flushed every once in a while again you will keep water moving in the pipes, which eliminates freezing. Do this at all sinks/ tubs in your house. If you are up during the night be sure to flush toilet then also.
#2 open cabinet doors under sinks. If you open the cabinet doors under the sink the warm air from the house will circulate better, again reducing the risk of freezing.
#3 if you have an outside hose connection, be 100% sure it is shut off and the outside valve is open. On the inside of the house in the basement there should be a shut off valve close to the hose connection. If you shut it off inside and then open the house connection outside the small amount of water in the line will flow out and then the line will be empty, therefore nothing will be able to freeze.
If you have any questions or concerns about the coming weather and your house, please email or call me. Please follow these procedures anytime the weather or wind chill is going to be really cold.
If you find that any of your plumbing pipes freeze in the next few days or anytime for that matter, do not use a hair dryer or anything to thaw them out. Contact me and I will advise as to the steps to take. Sometimes the pipe breaks when frozen and if you use a hairdryer you will thaw the line and then water will shoot out all over the house causing damage.
Stay safe and warm in the coming days.