Pipes can freeze in Texas?
Water pipes can absolutely freeze in Texas’ winters, and fixing broken pipes is not fun for anyone. Every winter that comes around, my palms sweat a little knowing the potential damage it can bring. As a renter, freezes are something you should be very cognizant of throughout the winter. Damage from freezing pipes is something that house renters must help avoid.
What to do
As a renter, you may not be able to stop the pipes from freezing. Still, it is your responsibility to help keep them from exploding due to pressure buildup as they freeze. The most important thing you can do to help this is to keep your heat on in the wintertime. This is especially important when leaving for vacation. We live in an indecisive winter climate where one day, you could be sunbathing at Barton Springs, and the next day all the schools are closed down due to icy roads. The point is you never know when it’s going to freeze, and just because you left for vacation in shorts doesn’t mean that the weather won’t dip below freezing while you are gone.
While keeping your heat on helps keep the pipes from freezing in the first place, sometimes it’s just too cold for too long, and the pipes will freeze regardless. A frozen waterline is not necessarily bad as long as the waterline has a way to relieve the excess pressure from the freezing water. As water freezes, it expands. That’s why your frozen soda can explodes in the freezer and also why ice floats. When the water expands, it needs someplace to grow. That is why it is imperative to take preemptive action and drip your faucets and remove any hoses connected to them. Dripping faucets both helps prevent pipes from freezing and will prevent pipes from bursting if they do freeze. Dripping an exterior faucet with your hose still attached, will negate the dripping benefits if the water in the hose freezes.
The general guidance for the proper amount to drip a faucet can be somewhat confusing. It can be described as a slight but steady stream, or about the size of a pencil lead, or as low as 5 drips per minute. The Sure Arrow preferred method is to let your exposed outdoor faucets drip at least 5 drops per minute as well as to leave a very slight steady stream on an interior faucet furthest away from your water meter. This “steady stream” can be about the size of a thin pencil lead but not low enough to have an annoying drip. Generally, in Texas winters, just leaving your heat on and dripping the exposed exterior faucets is enough, but for those times when it really drops below freezing, with cold spells at or below 20 degrees, you will also want to drip an interior faucet.
So this was a lot to take in and has probably has generated some questions, let’s take a look at some questions you may have:
Where are my exposed faucets outside?
Knowing which faucets are exposed outside is easy. Each year we come to our properties to cover and wrap the outdoor hose bibs before the first major freeze. Some of these faucets can’t be covered, or it would be useless to cover them because of how exposed the pipes are. These are your exposed faucets should be dripped 24 hours a day until the freezing weather is over.
What faucet inside is furthest from the water meter?
The water meter is located at the front of the house along the street. You can identify it by looking for a black cast iron covered box in the ground labeled “Water Meter.” Try to find a faucet inside your house furthest from this point.
What is Freezing Weather?
Freezing weather is when it is below 32 degrees, but you don’t have to take action until the weather drops below 28 degrees for 4 hours or more, as we will cover in our next questions.
When exactly should I drip the exterior faucets?
When the weather drops below 28 degrees for 4 hours, it is important to drip your exposed exterior faucets. As mentioned before at Sure Arrow each year, we come to our rentals to wrap the outdoor hose bibs and remove hoses from the faucets before the first significant freeze. Still, it is up to the renters to drip the outdoor faucets and ensure the hoses remain off. As a courtesy, we will typically come by and drip the exterior faucets for you, but this is not to be relied on because we may not be available, you or your housemates may use the faucet, or some other inadvertent action may keep the faucets from dripping. It is therefore essential that during freezing weather to continually check the exterior faucets.
When exactly should I drip the interior faucets?
The interior faucet only needs to be dripped in more extreme weather. Extreme is when the temperature drops below 20 degrees.
I’m going out of town during the winter, what exactly should I do?
If you plan on leaving town, it is imperative that you leave your heat on and let your landlord know that you will be leaving. This way, your house is protected from general freezing weather, and your landlord can drip interior faucets if colder conditions require it. Further, if you plan on being out of town for an extended time, it can be a good idea to ask your landlord to shut off the water to your house. Doing this guarantees that your pipes will not rupture.
What temperature should I keep the heat on?
Generally, you should not set your thermostat below 60. This temperature is probably too cold if you plan on being in the house, but it is a good balance if you are not planning on being home.
It is important to be aware that some homes have special circumstances that require even further attention. For instance, one of our rentals is a very large home from the 1900s, and for some reason, forever to be unknown, the builders put the waterlines to the second story on the outside of the house. This means that the heat from the inside of the house is much less effective against preventing freezes, requiring the bathroom faucets upstairs must be dripped during freezing weather. Situations such as these will be made known to you by your landlord.
Finally, If you do find yourself with frozen pipes, don’t panic. The first thing to do is to let your landlord know. This way, your landlord can monitor the situation and help guide you. If you find that your pipes are frozen, it is crucial not to turn the faucet off. The frozen water can continue to expand, and even a little water trickling out of a faucet can help it to thaw. It is also very important to keep an eye on things as it warms up. If a frozen pipe has caused a rupture, as the water thaws, water will start to come out of the pipe, requiring that the water be shut off at the water meter or water shut off valve.
In Conclusion
Here is the bullet point list of the most important things to remember:
- Home or not, keep your thermostat above 60 throughout the winter
- If the weather is going to be below 28 degrees for more than 4 hours
- Remove Hoses from outdoor faucets
- Make sure non covered exterior faucets are dripping
- If the weather is expected to drop below 20 degrees
- Drip an interior faucet
- Remove Hoses from outdoor faucets
- Make sure non covered exterior faucets are dripping
- Be aware of any special conditions for your house