01/21/2026
Ok folks!! So lets talk about the elephant in the room!! Winter will finally be here this weekend!!!
Let’s talk about the Freeze.
Plumber tips:
First thing, locate your emergency shut off valve at the city water meter. This valve is typically located in a round box with cast iron lid or a black box with a plastic lid between the street and the sidewalk. Clean this out where you can access the shut off valve. Most shut off valves have an arrow showing direction of flow or two circles, one on the bottom part and one on the valve itself that moves. Lining these two circles up or turning the arrow the other way means the water is off. I recommend putting a marker of some kind, a stick or flag by the meter so you can find it just in case it gets covered by ice or snow, so you can find it in an emergency.
Attempt to cover your outside hosebibs as best as you can. Disconnect all water hoses! A cover can be bought from stores if they are not sold out. I was just at Home Depot and they have plenty at the moment. You can also wrap a towel around them and tape it up if you don't have the time.
Open up all your cabinets where your have plumbing fixtures, by opening your cabinets it allows heat into the cabinet where the pipes are located keeping them warmer. If you have one I recommend putting a space heater near cabinets where the plumbing pipes are in the exterior wall.
A sprinkler systems double check device(some are above ground)are either in a box with a green lid by the water meter or above ground up near the house, there should be some handles you can turn off. Turn these off and drain the ports with a flat head screw driver. This will keep this from freezing and busting. This should also be insulated if it is located above ground.
Most double check systems that are located in the ground have very rusted handles. I would not attempt to turn these off as it may start a leak. If this is the case, just leave it be.
If you use your fireplace, please make sure your baffle/flue is open. Make sure you also have carbon monoxide detectors for your safety.
Please do not just use a slow drip on your faucet. It will still freeze up if it’s cold enough or you lose power. If it’s a two handle faucet start by opening the hot side first where it’s a steady drip of water then open the cold side till you can see an increase of flow. If it’s a single lever faucet, open the valve where it’s right in the middle where ideally it would be using some hot and some cold water. If you can count a drip fall at the same rate as you count normally, 1,2,3,4...that should suffice.
Exterior wall fixtures should have more volume of water streaming out. Toilets located on the outside wall should be flushed every couple of hours.
These are just some small tips that may help prevent some major headaches.
Reach out to me if you have any questions.
Stay warm my friends!!
