- Dripping your faucet during freezing weather can make a big difference when it comes to protecting your plumbing.
- Sub-freezing temperatures are expected Tuesday and Wednesday nights in North Florida and South Georgia.
- Watch the video to see how you can prevent costly damage.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
This drip or this drip? Well, temperatures are going to be below freezing this week, and your pipes may be in trouble. The drip you choose could be a matter of costly damage or no damage at all.
I’m Ashley Engle, your neighborhood reporter in Quincy. I spoke to one neighbor who has experienced a freeze here in Gadsden County. He says he's taking steps to keep water flowing despite the cold forecast.
It's part of the job.
"It's a little bit of a hassle" Danny Hunter knows he needs to prepare his hoses and pipes to not get frozen and damaged. But he knows, “it's North Florida, usually in the wintertime it's a couple times."
Not only his water pipes, but preparing his fruit and vegetable crops too. "We have a lot of investment in our plants so we're going to protect that even our cold weather stuff."
Take a look at this map. In December 2022, Gadsden County was in the middle of 2 areas that experienced the most cases of frozen pipes.
"One small repair maybe cost you a couple hundred dollars, or if it's a lot of damage, you know you can run into hundreds of dollars."
Dennis Miller is a local plumber in town who has been in the business for 52 years. He says to prevent your pipes from freezing, "keep water moving."
In your home, outside in the yard and in a barn, keep a steady flow of water like this on your screen to keep the water going. “Just let it trickle from the spigot itself. Then you tend to have a lot less problems."
If you have outside hose faucets, remove your hose from the spigot and let the water run. When it comes to tankless water heaters, leave a hot water faucet running to move the water through the tank.
Dennis says being prepared is crucial but if you do get damage. "First of all, you need to know where your cut off is of your meter or if you're on a well, turn the water off if you have damage. Where to go, find your local plumber."
Taking extra precautions and preparing now before regretting it in the long run, "when the temperature comes back up they can turn off their water and then do it again."
Dennis says his team has seen a lot of freezes causing damages but he says when prepared, it can prevent these damages and save you money in the long run.
