With cold weather in the forecast, the Portland Water Bureau reminds customers to take preventative measures to protect home plumbing systems from potential weater-related damage.
Tips on protecting indoor plumbing:
- Insulate pipes in unheated areas such as a crawl space, attic, garage or basement.
- If below freezing weather is anticipated, open cupboard doors in kitchen and bathrooms this allows pipes to get more heat from inside your home.
- If you're planning on leaving for several days during freezing weather, put your furnace on a low setting this may not completely prevent freezing pipes, but it can help.
- Let a slight stream of water run when temperatures drop below freezing faucets farthest from the street should be the ones left running use cold water to avoid gas or electric heating charges.
Tips on protecting outdoor plumbing:
- Caulk around pipes where they enter the house. Close all foundation vents. Cut wood or Styrofoam blocks to fill vent openings then slide them into the vents. Open the vents again in the spring to prevent dry rot.
- Protect outside pipes and faucets. If you have a separate shut off valve for an outside faucet, consider shutting it off and draining it for the winter.
- If you don't have a separate valve to turn off faucets, you can wrap outside faucets or hose bibs with insulation. Use newspaper or rags covered with plastic, fiberglass or molded foam?insulating covers (available at hardware stores) to wrap faucet.
- Disconnect all garden hoses and drain in-ground irrigation systems according to manufacturer's instructions.
