You’d better go around the house and check for leaks while the days are still nice! Outside faucets should definitely be addressed before the weather turns on us. If you have any drips, you want to get them repaired before it gets cold.
Outside faucets can freeze up with the cold weather, causing the pipe inside the wall to crack and cause severe damage to the interior of your home. You can go to any home improvement store to purchase hose-bib covers. These are inexpensive and highly recommended as extra insurance against freezing.
Also, make sure that all exposed piping in an attic or a crawl space is insulated. It doesn’t seem necessary in Texas to be this careful, however, last year several of our customers had floods in their homes due to pipes freezing in the attic or crawl space.
I hope this winter isn’t as cold as last year but it pays to be proactive. If you don’t want to crawl around in those cramped areas give us a call. We’ll be happy to check for plumbing leaks, potential problems, and even install pipe insulation. We can also check for, and in some cases repair, any heating and air duct problems.
Other things to put on your checklist:
- Make sure you have clean filters for your furnace and change them often. This will keep your heating unit functioning efficiently and the air you breathe clean and healthy.
- Check to be sure your carbon monoxide detectors are working. These should be located at your furnace as well as water heaters.
- If you live in a pier and beam home, it’s time to put the covers on your exterior crawl space vents. Don’t have any? They can be purchased with some trial and error, or they can be fabricated on site with either thin plywood, sheet metal, etc. As a customer service, our service techs will even do this for you, if you like. (Just let us know beforehand, so our men have the supplies on the trucks.)
Have you checked out our November specials on Dottie’s Deals? When you sign up for our newsletter, you get that information (and so much more!) right in your inbox. Sign up today!
