Tips on preparing your home for upcoming freezing temperatures

Jackson, Tenn. — With overnight low temperatures falling below freezing for the next couple of nights in West Tennessee, it is important to prepare your home for what’s to come. While we retreat inside our homes to stay warm and dry, the cold outside can wreak havoc on our home’s plumbing systems without the proper preparation.

“Make sure that they disconnect their hoses from the outside hydrants so that it prevents a freeze there on the outside hydrants. You want to make sure that the crawl space vents, if you’re on a conventional foundation, make sure those vents are closed,” says Charlie Garrett, Vice President of Garrett Heating and Plumbing Company.

Make sure to keep any eye on plumbing cabinets as well, such as sink cabinets. Make sure to move any potentially hazardous materials like cleaning products to a safe place if children or pets are present.

‘If you have some plumbing that is on an outside wall, if there’s a cabinet there, open those cabinet doors so the plumbing on the outside walls can get a little bit of heat,” Garrett said.

Remember that running water requires lower temperatures and takes longer to freeze than stagnant water. Just a small stream of running water from a sink or faucet could help prevent a pipe from freezing.

“The main thing is to drip your hot and cold water at a few faucets in your house and make sure it’s a pretty steady drip,” Garrett said.

Pipes are at risk of freezing when temperatures drop below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Your pipes always have a little water in them and when temperatures plummet that water freezes and then nothing can pass through

“Well, if we get into a freezing condition where it’s below freezing for several days then the water lines can freeze and break. That was most of the damage we saw during the last freeze that we had. If you can drip your faucets, drip your hot and cold water, you can prevent that,” Garrett said.

Do not leave your heat off as low temperatures can freeze pipes. Keep your system set to at least 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

“Basically on the heating side – don’t set your thermostat back too far. Keep your heat up in the house,” Garett said.

Garrett says another great way to prevent your pipes from freezing is to insulate them.