Protecting your pipes this winter

Freezing temperatures can be tough on your home, especially your pipes. Frozen pipes can lead to big problems during cold weather months.

“Leave them dripping,” Ted Sermon, president of Sermon Service & Electric, said. “Let the water run through them. As long as they’ve got some water running through them, they’re not going to freeze up.”

Sermon also says to buy heat tape, which can be found at any hardware store.

“It’s got a braid on it that is gonna make it stronger, make it last longer,” he said. “And this just goes right on the pipe. It doesn’t heat it to an extreme temperature. It just keeps it warm so the water’s always flowing.”

Insulation is a big key in keeping your pipes and house from freezing.

“You know, even in a manufactured home or trailer situation that has skirting,” Sermon said. “If it’s insulated well enough, you’re maybe only going to have a day or two out of the whole year where you’re gonna need that coverage of the heat on the pipes.”

It’s also a good idea to do a check over all of your home to make sure everything is working correctly and won’t cause a headache later.

“This time of year, when the weather’s bad like this, you wanna walk through your home,” Sermon said. “The area where your water heater and your furnace and your water pipes that are exposed are at and things like that. And always just be checking on those things this time of year and make sure that the weather isn’t causing any problems. Your driers won’t vent sometimes real well, your gas appliances won’t vent really well when it’s cold so it’s good to be looking at all of those things this time of year.”

They also say leaving cabinet doors open could help keep pipes below the sink warm.