WITH A COLD SURGE
ON ITS WAY, PIPE BURSTS WILL HAPPEN. TAG YOUR SHUTOFF VALVE TO BE ABLE TO QUICKLY
CLOSE IT IF A PIPE BURSTS
January 5, 2015
With a cold surge on the way, the Louisville Water Co.
has announced a program throughout January to encourage residents to find their
water shutoff valve and "tag it."
The National Weather Service in Louisville said Monday
that an arctic front will bring the coldest air of the season to the region
beginning Wednesday, adding that "now is the time to make
precautions."
Late evening temperatures Wednesday will drop to around
zero, with wind-chill readings into Thursday morning expected to dip well below
zero, a weather advisory said.
The water company said in a release that it wants to
help residents prep for cold weather emergencies with the tag-it campaign.
The water shutoff valve controls the flow of water
coming inside a home, and "if a water pipe inside the home bursts, knowing
the location of your shutoff valve and how to turn it off can save valuable
time and minimize water damage," the release said.
The company said that during the extreme cold weather in
2014 it received hundreds of calls from customers, after water lines had burst.
So this year the company is trying to educate customers on how to minimize the
damage.
The water company is offering free hangers that can be
attached to the shutoff valve. Customers can request a hanger through the
Louisville Water Co. Facebook and Twitter channels, or pick up one at the
downtown office, 550 S. Third St.
Customers also might want to use a bright-colored ribbon
to tag the valve.
If customers need help finding the valve and turning if
off, they can see a video at LouisvilleWater.com.
Here are some other ways that can help prevent frozen
water pipes:
•Wrap exposed pipes with insulating material. Pipes
under kitchen sinks, in crawl spaces, near windows or in unheated basements are
areas susceptible to freezing.
•If a house has a crawl space, cover the outside vents
to prevent winter winds from entering and freezing pipes.
•Keep the garage door closed if you have a slab
foundation since some water pipes are located under concrete floors in the
garage.
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Avert Disaster by Knowing How to Shut Off Your Home’s
Water Supply
You probably know how to replace your furnace filters
and operate the circuit breakers on your electrical panel. But do you know
where to find and how to shut off your home’s main water supply in an
emergency? A little knowledge could avoid a serious mess and save thousands in repair
bills, say the experts.
He’ll tell you a cautionary tale of a crony whose family
didn’t know where the water main shut-off valve was or how to turn it off. The
soggy, sorry aftermath was inevitable.
“A friend recently called me in a panic when I was out
to dinner on a Friday night,” he recalled. “A pipe in his garage had frozen and
was flooding his kitchen and basement. The family members who were home had no
idea even where to look for the water main shut-off valve.”
He hurriedly tried explaining what to do over the phone,
but quickly decided that actions speak louder than words. He and his
brother-in-law, a plumber by trade, abruptly left their wives behind at the
restaurant and raced off to meet the homeowner at his abode.
“Although we arrived within 10 minutes of ending our
phone conversation, a neighbor had beaten us to the punch and already shut off
the water. But not before our friend had incurred many thousands of dollars of
damage to his home,” he said. “If only his family members had known how to turn
off the water supply, a lot of expense and inconvenience could have been
avoided.”
Such knowledge can be extremely important if you ever
have a frozen, leaky or burst pipe, which can cause significant damage to your
home. But the truth is, not enough homeowners are aware of the location of the
valve that controls the water entering their residences.
Actually, he noted, most homes commonly have numerous
shut-off valves located in close proximity to one another and each serving a
different purpose. Some are for lawn irrigation, some for water meters, etc.
“When you are in a hurried or “panicked” situation and
need to shut the water off quickly, you can easily get confused unless you know
what to look for,” he said. “The valves are typically located indoors close to
an exterior wall, near the water meter itself close to the floor, or in the
basement.”
One type of valve is round-handled (this called a gate valve), similar in
appearance and control to an outdoor sprinkler valve that controls your garden
hose. This rotary valve needs to be turned clockwise until tight to shut off
the water supply
The other type of valve is a lever (this type of valve is a ball valve) that typically needs
to be pulled downward (until it is parallel to the floor or across (perpendicular to) the water pipe) to turn off the supply;
in the “on” position, the lever is pointed up toward the ceiling or parallel to the flow of water inside the pipe. Note that,
depending upon the installer, the orientation of the valve(s) in your home may
be different.
It’s not enough for only one occupant to know where
these valves are. Be sure to show the rest of your family their location and
how to operate them in an emergency. A quick family meeting showing everyone
where and how the water main shut-off valve works is a great idea.
“Also, put a label on the main shut off valve so
everyone knows exactly which one to turn off in an emergency,” he added.
If you notice any leaking around these valves, they may
need to be tightened or replaced by a plumber, who can inspect your equipment
and repair or replace them as needed.
“If it’s extremely cold, you also run the risk of your
water pipes freezing and bursting, which can lead to very expensive repairs,” he
said.
Consider that approximately 250,000 families suffer
damaged homes every winter because of frozen water pipes that burst, according
to State Farm Insurance statistics. A pipe with only a 3-millimeter crack can
emit as much as 250 gallons of water per day.
To prevent frozen pipes during a bitter cold spell, turn
on the hot water to a trickle and let it run continuously from a faucet nearest
an outside wall. Wrap and insulate pipes in your home’s attic and crawl
space/basement. Caulk and insulate any air leaks in areas where pipes are
situated. Open cabinet doors to enable warm air to reach any uninsulated pipes
beneath appliances and sinks. And if you turn on your faucets and no water
comes out, leave the faucets on, shut off the water main valve and immediately
call an expert plumbing resource.