Extreme storm warnings for the weekend bring a possible danger for Houston homeowners: damaged pipes — a common, yet preventable, result of freezing temperatures.
Joe Bany, Director of Operations at the Houston plumbing company John Moore Services, warned homeowners to take the proper precautions this weekend.
“Make sure if you do have pipes that are exposed outside — feeding water to your house — that those are covered,” he said.
Outside pipes and faucets, according to Bany, are the most vulnerable to freezing. Pipes that funnel directly into the home can be especially susceptible, he said.
“Hosebibs will crack; sprinkler systems — those things will break,” Bany said.
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller encouraged the use of foam insulation for outdoor pipes. Similarly, Bany warned against using anything that attracts or absorbs water, like newspapers and towels.
“They can be worse than leaving them alone because they suck in moisture [and] they freeze faster,” Bany said.
Bany warned owners of older homes, in particular, to be wary of their piping systems.
“Older homes with a rigid pipe system, like a galvanized pipe or a copper pipe or a CPVC — they don’t expand,” he said. “And so once it freezes, it can put that pressure break in the pipes.”
If homeowners find frozen pipes, Bany advised them not to panic, as frozen pipes do not automatically indicate broken ones. It often only means there is a “freeze spot” in the house, he said.
“You might have good working water in 75% of your house,” Bany said. “But you’ve got one bathroom on the backside of the house, and no water’s coming out of that. So you’ll have some frozen pipes in that direction.”
To mitigate the effects of these frozen spots, Bany suggested taking a specific approach.
“At any frozen spot, you should open up the shower valve,” he said. “Allow some of that warm air to come in. You should allow it, as it thaws, to drip out until you get some pressure coming out of the fixtures.”
Miller advised Texas residents — in both rural and urban areas — to take similar steps to avoid burst pipes indoors and outdoors.
“Crack your faucets open, even the hot water — actually, hot water freezes faster than cold water — let those drip,” he said. “Keep those cabinets open, especially those that have piping in them, so that they can not freeze. They need the heat of the warmth of the rest of the house.”
The city of Houston advises residents not to drip their faucets to prevent excess stress on the city’s water infrastructure that could lead to a boil notice. Residents are advised to wrap or drain their pipes to prevent freezing
Houston Public Media’s Andrew Schneider contributed to this article.
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