Aqua Ohio offers tips for avoiding, dealing with frozen pipes

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Aqua Ohio (Aqua) is encouraging its customers to take steps to prevent frozen pipes inside their homes during cold weather.

“I think everyone will agree that last winter was one of the worst we’ve had to contend with in a long time,” said Aqua’s Area Manager Scott Ballenger. “We received hundreds of calls from customers with frozen pipes inside their home. We just want to make sure they know what they can do to prevent pipes from freezing and what supplies and materials to have hand to help if they find themselves with frozen pipes.”

Some things Ballenger says customers can do right now, to prepare for severe winter weather are:

• Locate and visibly mark the master valve so customers can turn off the water to their home in case a pipe breaks inside their home. (everyone old enough to be left at home alone should know where this valve is and how to operate it)
• Make sure the lids on outdoor meter pits are not broken or missing.
• Shut off and drain any outside faucets including those for lawn sprinkling systems.
• Prevent drafts in unheated areas, such as crawl spaces or basements, by replacing broken glass or making other repairs.

Ballenger says materials customers should have on hand are heat tape, pipe insulation, a portable space heater and a portable hairdryer. The tips he advises customers to use in unheated areas of their homes when temperatures drop below freezing are:

• Wrap pipes with insulation material or heat tape. Wrap indoor water meters with a blanket.
• Proper and safe use of portable space heaters can also keep exposed pipes in drafty areas from freezing.
• For interior plumbing located on an outside wall such as a kitchen sink, install heat tape to the pipes beneath the sink. If no small children are in the house, open cabinet doors beneath the sink to allow the warm air in the home to reach the pipes.
• When temperatures remain below 10 degrees, customers might want to leave a thin stream (about the size of a pencil lead) of water running continuously from at least one tap – preferably the one farthest from the meter. The additional cost of the water is cheaper than the cost of repairing ruptured pipes.
• If pipes do freeze and the customer can locate the frozen area, use a hand-held dryer (blow dryer) or heat tape to thaw the area. Do not use a plumbers torch or heat gun.

For more information, visit aquaamerica.com or follow Aqua on Facebook at facebook.com/MyAquaAmerica and on Twitter at @MyAquaAmerica.