Prepare Your Home for Freezing Temperatures

By: Toni Harrison
By: Toni Harrison

Freezing weather doesn't reach the Brazos Valley often but when it does, it's especially damaging to homes unprepared for extreme temperatures. Usually, it's the pipes that are most vulnerable to the cold.

Randall Pitcock, owner of The Tool Guys a home repair company, says there are ways to prepare your home for the weather from the inside and out.

"Outside, take the garden hose off and wrap the faucet in news paper and tape it up. They sell an after market product that has a rubber band, it's a dome that slides over the heat off bricks will help keep everything from freezing," said Randall Pitcock, owner, The Tool Guys.

Pitcock also says outdoor pipes, like those for the sprinkler system, need to be covered.

"Cover it up completely and tape it up, keep it from freezing that's your goal," said Pitcock.

Securing your house for severe weather doesn't have to be difficult, in fact most of the time it's as simple as letting the faucet drip.

"It doesn't have to run really fast, just a drip will alleviate some of that pressure so that if the pipe does freeze the swelling won't cause the pipe to rupture," said Pitcock.

Pitcock says you can also keep pipes under sinks from freezing by using indoor heat.

"Open the cabinet doors and allow that heat to circulate under the cabinet," said Pitcock.

Another tip is to make sure you know how to turn off the water supply to your home.

"If you have a ruptured line anywhere, you're going to want to be able to turn that off or isolate that part of the line," said Pitcock.

It's also important to make sure windows and doors have proper weather stripping to reduce wind drafts. So while you can't change the weather outside, you can secure your home to make sure it doesn't cause problems inside.
