11/12/2026
Dear colleagues, customers, friends, and family,
We have an impending arctic blast headed our way. Arctic weather in the mid-atlantic region is not a regular event, When the frigid winds blow, it carries any heat away and leaves freezing conditions. We highly recommend the following steps to protect your home from devastating plumbing leaks from frozen and burst pipes.
1. Close up all openings into your home. Specifically, the foundation vents and crawl space door. Blocking off these openings will drastically reduce the heat robbing winds from getting to your pipes.
2. Remove the water hoses from the outside hose faucets (AKA hose bibs or spickets). This is especially important for the frost proof hose faucets. With a hose on it, the water inside the valve cannot drain out.
3. During the coldest times, leave the water on (a very light stream is recommended).
4. Look at each sink that has water pipes in an exterior wall. In these cases, leave the cabinet doors open so the heat of the home can reach the inside of the cabinet.
5. For exterior mounted tankless water heaters, if you cannot turn them off and drain them, find a way to use a clamp-on lamp with a higher wattage incandescent light to have the light act as a heater, Remember water starts freezing at 32 degrees F. Keeping the inside of the cabinet of the heater at least 33 degrees F or higher is crucial.
6. Even if you are going out of town keep your heat on. If the power goes out, heat in the building will slowly go away and the more heat you start with the longer it will take to freeze inside the home.
7. Those that are going out of town, freeze a disposable cup full of water. After it is frozen, place a cold coin or other object that doesn't float on top of the ice. When you return home, if the coin has dropped under the top of the ice, you may not want to eat the meat in the freezer that had likely thawed and then refrozen before you returned.
These are some of the easiest tasks that can be very effective in protecting your home or business. Be safe.
At 9 Yards Plumbing and More, we don't wish for a plumbing disaster to happen to anyone. However, if it does happen please consider calling us at 804-216-2248 for professional assistance.