BELLEVILLE – With extremely cold temperatures expected in the coming days, Illinois American Water is reminding homeowners to take steps to prevent pipes from frozen. These tips can also help protect the local water team as they do important work for a reliable and safe water service.
• Let a small trickle of water run overnight to prevent the pipes from freezing. Customers should consider collecting the water for later uses such as watering house plants and more. The cost of a short-term trickle is much less than repairing a burst pipe.
• Open the cabinet doors to reveal the pipes. Opening the cabinet doors exposes pipes to warmer room temperatures.
Elizabeth Matthews, Vice President of Operations, said, “These two tips are most important. They not only help the residents to keep their house installations safe, but also support our team on site. When pipes freeze, customers often assume there is a problem with their water service and call our team for an inspection. This can put demands on our team members who work hard on site to keep the water flowing. “
When in-home pipes freeze, customers should:
• Immediately turn off the water and do not attempt to thaw frozen pipes unless the water is turned off. Freezing can often lead to invisible cracks in pipes or connections.
• Apply heat to the frozen pipe by warming the air around it. Customers can use a hairdryer, space heater, or hot water. Space heaters should not be left unattended and customers should avoid using kerosene heaters or open flames.
• Once the pipes have thawed, the water should be turned on slowly and the pipes checked for cracks and leaks.
When customers are away from home, they should:
• Have a friend, relative, or neighbor check their property regularly to make sure the heat is working and the pipes are not frozen.
• Consider purchasing a frost alarm. The alarm will call a user selected phone number when the indoor temperature drops below 45 degrees.
Customers are also reminded to keep snow away from fire hydrants near their home. This can help the local firefighters in an emergency. Illinois American Water also encourages customers to update their Illinois American Water account contact information in order to obtain important water service information in the event that their service is compromised. Customers can manage their account online at illinoisamwater.com. You can also call 800.422.2782 to update information.
Comments are closed.