Texas Water Utilities offers tips to prepare for a freeze

Staff

With this week’s freezing temps and rain heading our direction, these tips can help keep your home and property safe.

• Turn off your water shut-off valve before you go on vacation, or if you are home and expect a freeze. At times like this in Texas, water in your plumbing can freeze due to low temperatures in and around your house or apartment. The water expands when frozen and can burst the pipe. To mitigate the situation, everyone in your home should know where the water shutoff valve is located and how to turn it off. If you have a home built on “pier and beam,” it is probably located on an interior wall near the front of the house, where the water comes in from the water meter. If your home was built on a slab, the valve might be located near the hot water heater or inside your garage.
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• If the valve cannot be found inside your home, the next place to check is near the end of your property line (or street). Your meter box is a cement enclosure buried in the ground near your front curb, usually with a rectangular or round metal top. You will see a large knob near your meter. In order to turn it off, use a long screwdriver to assist. Turn this valve a quarter turn to make it perpendicular to the water pipe (like a lowercase T). If the valve is parallel, it is on. If it is perpendicular (90° angle), it is off. If it is apparent the break or leak are happening at the sink, toilet, or major appliance, there may be an “isolation shutoff valve” you can simply turn clockwise to stop the flow of water.
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• After you successfully turn the water off, or if your water lines appear to be frozen but not burst, it is important to drain out the water from your pipes by turning on the hot and cold faucets for when the pipes thaw. This may prevent a ruptured pipe as that frozen water in the plumbing expands combined with the water pressure as that returns.
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• Wrap or insulate pipes in unheated areas, such as attics, garages, or gardens. Hardware and plumbing supply stores carry insulation to help keep pipes from freezing.
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• Turn off outside faucets and fix any leaks. Even a small trickle can result in a frozen pipe. Remove connected hoses and wrap faucets with towels or a Styrofoam insulator. Turn off and drain automatic sprinkler systems.
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• If you are a customer affected by a boil water notice or other disruption, you should use bottled or boiled water for drinking, to prepare and cook food, to brush your teeth, or to use as drinking water for pets. If bottled water is not available, bring water to a full “rolling boil” for 1 minute, then allow it to cool before use. You should boil tap water even if it is filtered. Do not use water from any appliance connected to your water line, such as ice and water from a refrigerator.