TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — If you haven't started preparing for the cold weather coming into the Big Bend, Chase McNeil of Keith McNeil Plumbing says it's time to get started.
"The cold weather, especially Saturday night into early Sunday morning is going to be very cold and will definitely be putting your exposed, especially exposed water pipes at risk," said McNeil.
If you haven't started preparing for the cold weather coming into the Big Bend, Chase McNeil of Keith McNeil Plumbing says it's time to get started.
"If you know you have exposed pipe, such as a backflow out near your road or by your water meter you could wrap it up with towels or blankets, etc. The other thing that's very easy to do is drip your pipe, running water is much harder to freeze," said McNeil.
If you happen to forget to cover your pipes and they burst, McNeil says know where your water shut off is.
"If you're in the city, you have a city water meter, make sure you know where that is, make sure you can access the valve and turn the water off. That's going to prevent any water damage, or any further water damage. Beyond that, call the plumber," McNeil.
For people with wells, McNeil says there's usually a water cut off at the well tank.
You can also purchase many items from stores like Ace Hardware to help your pipes from freezing. Gavin Koch of Apalachee Ace Hardware explains some of their most popular items during cold spells.
"We can do faucet covers, we have different types of those," said Koch.
Those covers can go over outdoor faucets to help keep them insulated. Koch also recommends heat tape for water pipes coming out of the ground.
"The main line comes out of the ground; you're going to put your heat tape right there," said Koch. "That will keep that main water coming in, it's going to warm it up."
Finally, you can also add pipe insulation to pipes outside to help keep them a little warmer.
"That styrofoam is good for anybody with a well, you can go out and insulate by your well, and right as you're coming into the house," said Koch.
Chase McNeil also told me today that they're planning on having about eight crews on standby for burst water pipes here in Leon County, showing the seriousness of the cold weather they're soon expecting.
