Prevent Frozen Pipes
When the temperature drops, improperly insulated water pipes can freeze and rupture. Expansion caused by freezing water is also a common cause for leaky pipes.
If you have a water leak emergency, call our trouble line at (253) 502-8344.
Protect your plumbing during cold weather by taking these easy steps:
- Insulate exposed pipes, valves and hose bibs. That includes pipes that are outdoors, in attics, crawl spaces, basements and garages. Pipe insulation and insulating material for hose bibs is available at many hardware stores.
- Shut off and drain outside faucets. If your hose bibs have individual shutoff valves, turn off the water supply for individual hose bibs and open hose bibs to drain faucets.
- Disconnect your garden hoses from hose bibs.
- Shut off and winterize your outdoor irrigation system and other water fixtures.
- Keep heat on and set your thermostat no lower than 55° F while away from home.
- If you are leaving your house for an extended period of time, ask someone to check it daily to ensure the heat is turning on.
- Locate your emergency shutoff valve and learn how to turn off your water supply.
To prepare for an extended freeze, you may want to open cabinet doors on exterior walls inside your house to allow warm air to circulate.
After freezing weather, log in to MyAccount and view your water usage dashboard to watch for leaks. If your usage graph does not show zero usage over a 24-hour period, you may have a burst pipe or leak on your property. You can also sign up for water leak notifications and be alerted via email and/or text message of water-use changes.