Cold Weather Survival List

Inside the House

• Keep your house heated to a minimum of 65 degrees. The temperature inside the walls where the pipes are located is substantially colder than the walls themselves. A temperature lower than 65 degrees might not keep the inside walls from freezing.
•  Identify the location for the main water shutoff in your home. Find out how it works in case you have to use it.
•  Open hot and cold faucets enough to let them drip slowly. Keeping water moving within the pipes will prevent freezing.
•  If you use fireplaces, wood stoves and electric heaters, watch them closely and make sure they are working properly.
•  Remember to close the flue in your fireplace when you’re not using it.
•  When traveling, ask a neighbor to check the house regularly. If there is a problem with frozen pipes or water leakage, attending to it quickly could mean far less damage.
•  If you plan to be away for an extended period of time, have the water system, including pool plumbing, drained by a professional to keep pipes from freezing or bursting.

Outside the House

• Keep sidewalks and entrances to your home free from snow and ice.
• Watch for ice dams near gutter downspouts. Ice dams can cause water to build up and seep into your house. Clear gutters of leaves and debris to allow runoff from melting snow and ice to flow freely.
• If you own a swimming pool and temperatures are expected to dip below freezing, run the pool pump at night to keep the water flowing through the pipes.
• Make sure all hoses are disconnected from outside spigots.
• If your garage is attached to your house, keep the garage doors closed. The door leading to the house is probably not as well-insulated as an exterior door.
• If ice forms on tree limbs, watch for dead, damaged or dangerous branches that could break loose when stressed by ice, snow or wind and damage your house or car, or injure someone on or near your property.