Thursday, January 8, 2015

HOW TO AVOID PIPE FREEZE-UPS IN APARTMENTS



HOW TO AVOID PIPE FREEZE-UPS IN APARTMENTS
For Your Apartment
During the cold weather months it is important to maintain adequate heat within your unit.  Maintaining adequate heat in your unit is particularly important in preventing water pipes from freezing and bursting.  Burst water pipes can cause extensive damage to your unit as well as surrounding units. Below you will find specific instructions for how to prevent pipes from bursting in cold weather.  Should you elect to disregard these instructions and experience a pipe burst, you will be responsible for the costs of repairs to your unit and neighboring units as necessary.
  • Do not set your thermostat too low and never turn your heat off completely.  Please be mindful of this during times that you may be away from your unit for an extended period.  Please keep your heat set at 65 degrees F or higher while you are gone.
  • Close all the foundation of crawl space vents.
  • For units equipped with an outside spigot, shut off the control valve and open the spigot during the cold weather months. This way, the pipe will be empty and cannot freeze.  Also, please disconnect any hoses from the spigots.
Before Freezing Weather
  • Remove garden hoses from outside faucets.
  • Lower, close and lock your storm windows.
During Freezing Weather
  • Open cabinet/vanity doors under sinks that are adjacent to outside walls.
  • In sustained sub-freezing weather, let water drip slowly from inside faucets (steady drip), 10 to 20 drops per minute is the ideal rate.
If You Will Be Away For an Extended Period of Time
  • Open cabinet doors under sinks that are adjacent to outside walls.
  • Keep thermostat set at 65 degrees F or higher.
  • Close all windows.