AUSTIN, Texas — With temperatures expected to drop below freezing this week, you may have to protect your home.
Master plumber for Reliant Plumbing Jason Oliphant said there are few simple ways to try to prevent your pipe from freezing, including letting your water faucets drip a little bit.
"Just a steady flow, just a small trickle, as long as it keeps the water moving, that will prevent it from freezing, and you want to do it on both sides – a little bit of hot and little bit of cold," said Oliphant.
He also recommends wrapping any exposed pipes near the outside walls. He said if your pipes do freeze and burst, that can be a very expensive situation.
"If it's in the attic and you are in a two-story house, you have two levels of flood damage to deal with," he said. "But, for the most part, if you've got nice floors, it can ruin your floors; it can ruin your cabinetry."
When it comes to outside your house, here's what he recommends:
"Go ahead and disconnect your hose, because if any residual water in the hose freezes, it's going to expand and burst the hose," said Oliphant. "So you want to disconnect your hose and put on one of these [hose bib covers]. You can get one like this, an insulated bag, or get the Styrofoam covers that go over it."
if you are heading out of town for the holidays, Oliphant said the safest bet to prevent your pipes from freezing is to shut off your water completely, but this should be done by an expert.
"If you are going to be leaving town, I definitely recommend you shut the water to your house at the street, drain everything down, drain in your hose bib, kill the gas to your water heater or power to your water heater, drain the water heater down," he said.
Matt Fernandez on social media: Facebook