Freezing temperatures not only can affect driving conditions, it can cause havoc on your pipes.  One of the most common claims(other than sump-pump failure) at your home is a frozen pipe bursting and leaking water to all parts of your home.  It is common and costly.  Broken pipe claims average $15,000.00 of damages to your personal property or structure.  A lot of times it is easily prevented if you take a couple additional steps in your planning and maintenance.

1. Be smart or don’t be cheap: If you are selling your house or you own a property your in between renters take extra precaution.  This seems so simple but many people forget about this.  There are those people that are cheap and don’t want to spend the money on heating a property that is not being used.  Okay, we can understand that mindset.  Please spend the extra money though to have the house properly winterized. Now, if pipes break you can go after the winterizing company to pay for damages instead of your own pocket or insurance company.
2. Going on a trip: Have someone consistently go to the property and check on things if you planning on going on a trip or you know you are not going to be there for an extended period of time.  Document the visits on paper or take pictures with a date stamp to prove the visits.  Sometimes your insurance company will like to see some proof of visits to make sure it wasn’t pure neglect of the property.  Your insurance company wants to take care of you but laziness is not a covered claim.  The fact there are lazy people who try to beat the system now forces the honest people to show proof that you are not neglecting the property.
3. Staying at home: There is nothing wrong with controlling your utility bill.  Don’t let it get out of hand though.  Keep the temperature at your home warm enough to keep pipes in your walls thawed.  If you want to be safe, run your faucet with a slight trickle to keep water moving in your pipes to help prevent freezing.
4. Insulate your pipes: Slab houses typically have the plumbing running through the attic.  This will leave your pipe exposed to the high probability of a burst happening. Putting a heat tape around the pipes will definitely help keep pipes from freezing.   Insulate the pipe to prevent cold temperatures from reaching it. Find air leaks in your home and properly insulate.  Fireplaces and vents are areas of the house where cold air can easily penetrate and freeze unsuspecting pipes.

Don’t let freezing temperatures infect your home to only damage your prized possessions and property.  These are simple ideas but could make a big difference when taking preventative actions.

Have any other tips? Leave them in the comments below.