Protecting your property during freezing temperatures
North Texas is experiencing freezing temperatures. As reminder, it is important to check your sprinkler system and prepare your home to avoid freezing pipes that can cause extensive damage to your property. Below are a few tips you can follow to get through the winter.
- Check your automatic sprinklers – Make sure your sprinkler system has a rain and freeze sensor and that it is working properly to avoid watering during a freeze. If your sprinkler system does not have a rain and freeze sensor, ensure you turn off your irrigation system manually. Watering during a freeze can cause sheets of ice to form on your property or on the street, creating extremely dangerous conditions for drivers and pedestrians. In addition to damaging your property, there could be liability issues should anyone be injured.
- Find your private shut-off valve – Learn where it is and how to operate it. They are often near an outside faucet close to the home. Older homes may have a valve that looks like an upside down “L” buried in the ground. Turning the valve handle perpendicular to the pipe stops the water flow to your home.
- Prepare pipes before a freeze – Wrap any exposed pipes, drain water hoses, insulate any outside faucets and cover vents around your foundation.
- Prepare pipes during a freeze – Let hot and cold water drip slowly from inside faucets and open cabinet doors under sinks along outside walls.
- Take steps before going out of town – If you will be gone for several days, turn off the water at your home’s private shut-off valve and drain all outside faucets. This may prevent your house from being flooded if there is a freeze while you are gone.
Dallas residents with a water emergency who need assistance turning their water off or on should call 3-1-1. For non-emergency service requests, visit dallas.gov or use the Dallas 311 mobile app available for download on iOS and Android devices.
