PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Philadelphia Water Department is warning residents to quickly protect their pipes against temperatures that are expected to plunge Friday.
“Go down to your basement, check it out, see where your water meter is and check the area around the water meter, and you always want that area to be at least 40 degrees,” said Water Department spokesman Brian Rademaekers.
“If you have a drafty window and you have exposed pipes in an area that gets pretty cold in your basement, cover up those areas and insulate your pipes.”
Rademaekers says if you wake up and have just a trickle of water, chances are you have a frozen pipe.
“That’s something you want to deal with right away,” he said.
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“You can do that by heating up the area slowly. Some people use a hair dryer. Sometimes you have to call a plumber, but don’t assume there’s a water main break. Make sure it’s not your pipes.”
He explained why these steps are critically important.
“Ice inside [pipes] will actually cause the pipe to break,” said Rademaekers. “Then you’ve got no water, you’ve got a flooded basement and because those are inside of your house, those are pipes the water department cannot help with.”
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One of the biggest causes of burst pipes in a home is the connection to outside faucets. Rademaekers says that’s easily preventable.
“Undo the garden hose, bring it inside and shut off the water to the spigot,” he said.
Rademaekers said the water department can only deal with pipes outside your house, so it’s important to safeguard your internal plumbing against the cold.
He also said residents can help with water main breaks by reporting them right away if they see water in the street.
At this time of year, the department has round-the-clock crews on 12-hour shifts and there will be extra coverage this weekend, but the sooner they can get to a break, the less damage it’s likely to cause.