Baby it’s cold outside

Here we go again….a cold artic blast has blown through Texas. We are all still getting over our PTSD from last year’s hard freeze. We’ve been told the Texas power grid has been winterized and we are ready, but here are some good tips on how to keep your home safe and flood free:

1. If you have any plumbing fixtures on exterior walls, drip the cold and hot water from the fixture.

2. Open your cabinet doors on cabinets with plumbing on all exterior walls.

3. Remove hoses from outside hose bibs and, and cover your faucets to keep them insulated.

4. Make sure your sprinkler system is turned off.

5. Do you know how to turn off your water? The water meter from the city is usually located out in your front or back yard and make sure you know where your water meter key is.

6. Have all your devices charged and keep additional charging devices nearby. Have your flashlights ready with backup batteries.

7. Pro Tip: If you experience a power outage over night, have a UPC backup battery that beeps loudly if the power goes out. Your security system may do this as well.

8. If you have a pool, set your freeze guard to 36 and check that your pool is running. If you lose power for more than 20 min or your main pump fails, your only option is to drain the equipment. There is a drain plug at the filter and the bottom of all pumps, heaters, and automatic chlorinators.

9. Water heaters:

a). Tank Water Heaters – The water heater should be fine since the burner will kick on and keep the tank warm. The lines to and from the water heater can freeze so drip hot water from any fixture in the house to maintain water flow through the hot water lines in the attic.

b). Tankless Water Heaters – If you maintain electricity, there shouldn’t be an issue. You could install a heated bulb in your attic and make sure you drip water from the hot side of a fixture to be safe.

10. Enjoy the snow day!