Due to the dip in temperatures, some residents in San Luis Obispo County woke up to frozen pipes over the past couple of days.
There are many products you can use to prevent outdoor pipes from freezing or even bursting.
The products are pretty inexpensive and could save you from a major inconvenience in the long run.
“Oh yes, yes. It’s from this morning,” said Michael Preasmeyer as he held up a thick layer of ice from a water bowl outside his daughter’s property in Paso Robles. “I just did a simple walk around the area and looking for water on the ground, running water.”
Their outdoor pipes were put to the test over the past couple of nights. Foam tubes wrapped around just about every pipe prevented them from freezing. But their plywood shed has been their saving grace when it comes to keeping the water running.
“The water actually goes underground from here directly to the house,” Preasmeyer explained. “Again, there’s a simple light bulb and when the temperatures drop down in the 30s, that provides enough heat.”
Jim Lepiapiane at Miner’s Ace Hardware says business has been steady.
“Everyone is panicking and they won’t be around much longer,” Lepiapiane said about one of the store’s most popular products. “The size ranges from half-inch all the way to four-inch insulation. Easy to separate, so you separate them, stick it on your pipe and tape it.”
Foam pipe insulation costs between two and eight bucks each.
“If you have super critical pipes that you don’t want to burst this is an electric heating element that attaches straight to the pipe,” a more expensive option, Lepiapiane explained.
He adds it’s important not to forget about your plants in this cold weather.
“This here is 6 mil Visqueen, a cheaper alternative to protect your plants,” he explained as they put a big tarp over some succulents. “Shade cloth does pretty well on citrus.”
Another option is to leave your faucet dripping to keep water moving through the pipes but the hardware store doesn’t recommend that.
