To avoid frozen pipes, keep the water moving and the heat on
Freezing temperatures are here, and for some homeowners that means frozen pipes.
To avoid dealing with that mess and expense, experts recommend slowly running the water in your house when it's very cold outside.
"If you get the water moving, it won't freeze," said Andrei Misura, a plumber with Round Lake Beach-based MC Plumbing Services. "When it gets in the 20s, you don't have to do that. But when it's really cold in the teens and the wind chill is like 10 or 20 below, then you do."
Misura said another way to avoid trouble is to keep the heat on even if you aren't at home.
"Try to keep it the same temperature day and night," he said. "Don't turn off the heat."
Misura said opening cabinet doors under your bathroom and kitchen sinks is a good way to keep those pipes from freezing. If the doors are closed the heat from your furnace can't get to them.
"In the end, it all comes down to if you have poor insulation," Misura said. "Make sure your house has good insulation and no drafts."