Tips for protecting pipes and more
Here are tips to help during cold weather:
• Tape or wrap exposed pipes. Many home improvement retailers have tape and other products for sale to use, but other protective materials work too.
• Drain the entire sprinkler system, since the tips of sprinkler heads and pipes often hold water, even when inactive.
• Make sure to disconnect garden hoses from all outdoor water faucets, allowing water to drain completely. After disconnecting and draining hoses, store them in a place with consistent (warmer) temperatures.
• Add or supplement insulation for water heaters.
• Winterize air conditioning window units by draining their pipes and hoses. Remove window units, if possible, and insulate the area accordingly.
• Clean gutters so winter rains can drain properly.
• When leaving a home or business for an extended time, place the thermostat at 55 degrees, rather than turning the heat off entirely.
• Should a pipe burst due to freezing or under any other circumstances, always know how to shut off your main water line servicing the home or building.
For more information on weatherization, go to www.maconwater.org.
Source: Macon Water Authority
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The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety offers more comprehensive tips to mitigate the risk:
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Provide a reliable back-up power source, such as a stand by generator, to ensure continuous power to the building.
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Recessed light fixtures in the ceiling below the open area that is directly under a roof, such as attic space, should be insulated to prevent the release of heat into the attic.
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Insulate all attic penetrations such as partition walls, vents, plumbing stacks, electric and mechanical chases, and access doors that are not properly sealed.
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Ensure proper seals on all doors and windows. Depending on the building or room size, fan tests can be conducted to ensure room and pressurization tests.
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Seal all wall cracks and penetrations including domestic and fire protection lines, electrical conduit, other utility service line, etc.
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Insulation and/or heat trace tape with a reliable power source may be installed on various wet sprinkler system piping. This includes main lines coming up from underground passing through a wall as well as sprinkler branch lines.
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A monitored automatic excess flow switch can be placed on the main incoming domestic water line to provide early detection of a broken pipe or valve when the space is unoccupied.
In the event of a frozen or burst pipe, the institute warns:
- Don’t use propane or a welding torch to melt the ice on a pipe. Instead, use a hairdryer.
- If a pipe has frozen, don’t keep the water flow on.
- If a pipe has burst, don’t let it thaw before you repair the pipe.
With the coldest air of the season arriving tonight, it's a good time to consider some preventive measures to protect water pipes.
According to the National Weather Service, temperatures at the Jersey Shore will range from six to 19 degrees tonight, with northwest winds gusting to 45 to 50 miles per hour.
"The combination of an Arctic air mass combined with gusty winds will result in dangerous wind chill values," the service warns in a Wind Chill Advisory.
High temperatures tomorrow will hover around 20 degrees, according to NOAA.
With such extreme conditions, experts say that water pipes are vulnerable.
"The threshold temperature for most pipes — those in attics and other areas not directly exposed to the cold — is about 20 degrees," advises the Houston Chronicle's Eric Berger.Pipes burst due to excessively high pressure. A comprehensive gizmodo.com article on the subject notes:Water pipes burst because the water inside them expands is it gets close to freezing, and this causes an increase in pressure inside the pipe. When the pressure gets too high for the pipe to contain, it ruptures.A simple solution is letting faucets run, according to a guide from The Weather Channel. While a dripping faucet is an effective way to relieve water pressure, an open faucet provides "relief from the excessive pressure that builds between the faucet and the ice blockage when freezing occurs. If there is no excessive water pressure, there is no burst pipe, even if the water inside the pipe freezes," the guide advises.
Bitter cold wind chills are expected Thursday morning in Middle Georgia.
Macon, Warner Robins and surrounding areas are expected to feel like temperatures in the single digits.
Volunteers for the Daybreak center for the homeless are making plans to shelter folks from the cold overnight at their facility at 174 Walnut St.
“We’re planning to be here once the Salvation Army overflows,” said Sister Elizabeth Greim, the executive director of the day center that also houses a medical clinic.
The Salvation Army men’s lodge expects to quickly fill the 65 beds and floor mats available at the facility between Broadway and Houston Avenue.
“We already have 35 to 40 in beds, then we put the overflow on the floor,” said Charles Pope, men’s shelter director.
Thursday’s morning lows are forecast to plummet down to the teens in Middle Georgia as winds gust to 25 mph.
Parts of North Georgia are likely to see actual temperatures in single digits.
The mercury will struggle to climb above freezing Thursday afternoon in the midstate, even with plenty of sunshine and calmer winds of 5 mph.
Everyone is urged to protect their pets, plants and pipes from the elements.
This frigid Arctic air mass begins filtering in Wednesday, with the coldest air hitting Thursday morning.
These conditions are anticipated to be the coldest since the big freeze last January, which was a few degrees colder than Thursday’s forecasted low of 16 in Macon.
On Jan. 7, 2014, Macon set a record low of 11 degrees, with temperatures staying below freezing most of the day.
Pipes burst all over the state, causing $75 million in damage, according to the Georgia Department of Insurance.
The mercury plunged again the next day to 12 degrees.
Friday’s low is expected to drop to about 20 degrees.
With prolonged periods of freezing temperatures, pipe breaks and property damage are possible.
Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens said people need to pay attention to their insurance coverage.
“Depending on the source of the property damage, you may or may not be covered,” Hudgens said in a news release offering cold weather safety tips.
Pipes breaking inside the house and any resulting water damage is generally covered by a homeowner’s policy.
Broken pipes outside on the property are not covered.
Also, water damage from a main break or other source outside the residence could be classified as a “flood” or “seepage,” which would not be covered under a standard policy, the release stated.
Insurance policies for renters or condominium dwellers usually cover water damage from an upstairs unit. Without insurance, a property owner would have to prove negligence to draw on the liability coverage on a neighbor’s policy.
Hudgens also warned people to use extra caution with home heating devices and make sure space heaters and wood stoves are a safe distance away from bedding and curtains.