By Brenda Masse
Special Contributor
It looks like we’re in for another round of winter weather this week in North Texas, and we thought we’d share some quick tips to make sure your home is ready.
1. Keep Your Pool Safe From Freezing Temps
Last year’s winter blast caused burst pipes, underground leaks, cracked pool decking and walls, and more. If your pool is not drained for winter, the main point is to keep the water moving. Run your pool pump and make sure the water level doesn’t drop too low.
Hobert Pools’ own Duke Loper has these tips for making sure your pool equipment survives a hard freeze.
2. Prevent Frozen Pipes
The pipes that are most likely to freeze are:
- outdoor pipes that are exposed like hose bibs and faucets, pool lines, and sprinkler lines;
- interior pipes in unheated areas like the crawl space in pier-and-beam homes, attics, and garages;
- pipes that run near exterior walls.
During a freeze, you should insulate interior and exterior pipes that you can access, keep water dripping, and open cabinet doors. You can purchase pipe covers like these at your local hardware store, or in a pinch, cover the exposed pipes with a towel or T-shirt, wrap that in a plastic bag, then tape it together as seen below.
3. Know How To Turn The Water Off
In an emergency (like a burst pipe), you don’t want to be rushing around trying to figure out how to shut off the water. Most newer houses have emergency shut-off valves, usually located in the garage or near the foundation. If you don’t have an emergency shut-off, you can shut the water off at the water meter.
Emergency Shut-Off Valve
Water Meter Shut-Off
Stay safe and warm this week!
