Tennessee is home to great music, the Smoky Mountains, Nashville hot chicken and generally mild weather—except during the winter. Beginning around December, temperatures often drop, causing many homeowners to have frozen water pipes. Fortunately, homeowners can take preventative action to help prevent frozen water pipes and, hopefully, avoid damage to their homes.
Seven Tips for Winterizing Your Home
Below are seven preventive measures you may take to winterize your home, helping to ensure your water pipes can handle the colder temperatures.
1. If temperatures are below freezing, allowing your faucets supplied by exposed pipes to drip slowly can keep water flowing and help prevent freezing. Make sure to shut off the faucets when the temperatures rise and the threat of freezing ends.
2. If you are leaving for a while, turn off and drain any in-ground sprinkler system that you may have. You should also consider leaving your house’s heat set at no lower than 55 degrees Fahrenheit.
3. Disconnect and put away outdoor hoses.
4. Wrap any outside faucets.
5. If you have water supply lines in your garage, keep your garage doors closed as much as possible.
6. Routinely open the cabinet doors in your kitchen and bathrooms to circulate warmer air around the plumbing.
7. If your house has exposed pipes (to the cold), consider wrapping them with insulation or use a UL-listed electric heat cable in accordance with instructions to help keep the pipes warm.
Even though you may take these precautions, sometimes pipes still freeze and additional steps must be taken. These steps are discussed next, including if you experience pipe damage.
You Have Damage—Now What?
If you have frozen pipes or water damage, you should immediately shut off your water by turning off the main shut-off valve. Consider using warm air to thaw your pipes; you can do so with a space heater or hair dryer, but make sure you use those items following their manufacturer’s recommendations. Additionally, don’t leave electrical heaters unattended or use any open flames.
Contact your insurer immediately if your home has damage from a burst pipe and take photos or record a video of your damage. This evidence may help with your insurance claim. After the insurance adjuster inspects your home’s damage, you may receive a settlement that can be used for repairs.
We’re Here to Help
The Tennessee Auto Insurance Agency has been helping customers in Murfreesboro, Smyrna, La Verge, Hendersonville, Shelbyville, Nashville, Franklin, Antioch, Mount Juliet, Manchester, Woodbury, Columbia and other areas of Tennessee since 1998. We can also help you with a home policy for your coverage needs. Call us at 615-893-6177 for a no-obligation quote.
This blog is intended for informational and educational use only. It is not exhaustive and should not be construed as legal advice. Please contact your insurance professional for further information.