Now is a great time to prepare your home for freezing temperatures. Arlington Water Utilities offers the following tips to help residents keep water flowing in their homes, whatever the winter may bring.
For now:
- Cover outdoor faucets with styrofoam faucet covers (available at hardware or home improvement stores) or wrap faucets with heavy cloth covered by plastic.
- Disconnect and drain outdoor water hoses, then store them indoors for future use next spring.
- Locate your emergency master shut off valve (usually found in a flower bed near the front of the house) so that you can quickly shut off the water to your house if any pipes happen to freeze and burst while they are thawing.
- Turn your sprinkler system off. Water once every three weeks, if no rainfall has occurred, on a day without freezing temperatures. Be sure to inspect your system by observing each zone for one minute and make any necessary repairs or adjustments to reduce water runoff that can create icy conditions on the road.
- Wrap pipes located in attics or garages with heat tape or cover them with pipe insulation.
When a freeze is in the forecast:
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- Open cabinet doors under sinks to allow warm air into the area around interior pipes.
- Set the hot and cold faucets to drip slowly in the kitchen sink, bathroom sinks, and tubs. The slow movement of water in the pipes will prevent solid freezing.
- If water pipes become frozen, let them thaw naturally by exposing warmer air to the pipes. Never try to thaw pipes using hair dryers or other forms of heat!
Always a good idea:
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- If you will be leaving town for an extended time, ask a close neighbor or friend to check on your property every few days.
- Any house or business that is totally vacant should be "winterized" - which is turning the water off at the meter and then opening all faucets on the property to drain the pipes.
- If you do not have a private water cutoff valve, and need help with turning your water off, call 817-275-5931 Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.- 5 p.m. or 817-459-5900 after hours - on weekends.
Please use the City's WeatherBug technology found on the home page for the latest conditions in your Arlington neighborhood.
Look for weekly watering advice on the water department Facebook page at www.facebook.com/arlingtonwater.
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