Illinois American Water: Tips for Cold Weather

Woodridge IL

23 November, 2021

1:54 PM

Description

Woodridge, Ill. (Nov. 23, 2021) – Before frigid temperatures arrive, Illinois American Water is encouraging homeowners to take steps now to preventwater damage from frozen and burst pipes. Tips also cover frozen watermeters, which can bring costly plumbing repairs and replacement fees along withheadaches and unexpected expense to homeowners. "We know cold weather will come soon enough, so now is the timefor customers to take preventative steps to avoid frozen pipes and watermeters. Preparing now can help customers avoid damaged plumbing inside andoutside of their homes," said Beth Matthews, vice president of operations. Before temperatures are below freezing customers should: • Check sprinkler or irrigation systems. Make sure you have turned everything offand fully drained the systems. • Identify your home's freezing points. Check your home for pipes in areas thatmay be prone to freezing, such as crawl spaces, unheated rooms, basements,garages and exterior walls. • Know the location of the main water shut-off valve. If a pipe freezes orbursts, shut off water immediately. • Protect your pipes and water meters. Customers are encouraged to wrap exposedpipes with insulation or use electrical heat tracing wire; newspaper or fabricmight also work. For outside meters, keep the lid to the meter pit closedtightly. When temperatures stay below freezing customers should: • Prevent pipes from freezing. Allow a small trickle of water to run overnightto keep pipes from freezing. Consider collecting the water for later use suchas watering indoor plants and more. The cost of a short-term trickle is muchless costly than a repair to a burst pipe. • Open cabinet doors to expose pipes. Opening cabinet doors exposes pipes towarmer room temperatures to keep them from freezing. If pipes freeze customers should: • Shut off the water immediately. Do not attempt to thaw frozen pipes unlessthe water is shut off. Freezing can often cause unseen cracks in pipes orjoints. • Apply heat to the frozen pipe by warming the air around it, or by applyingheat directly to a pipe. Customers can use a hair dryer, space heater or hotwater. Space heaters should not be left unattended, and customers should avoidusing kerosene heaters or open flames. • Once pipes have thawed, water should be turned on slowly and pipes should bechecked for cracks and leaks. When customers are away, they should: • Have a friend, relative or neighbor regularly check their property to ensurethe heat is working and the pipes have not frozen. • Consider purchasing a freeze alarm. The alarm will call a user-selected phonenumber if the inside temperature drops below 45 degrees. Customers are also encouraged to ensure their contactinformation is up to date to receive important water service information shouldtheir service be impacted. Customers can manage their account online,report water emergencies and more at www.illinoisamwater.com. They canalso call 800.422.2782 to update contact information. About Illinois American Water - Illinois American Water, a subsidiary of AmericanWater (NYSE: AWK), is the largest investor-owned water utility in the state,providing high-quality and reliable water and/or wastewater services toapproximately 1.3 million people. American Water also operates a customerservice center in Alton and a quality control and research laboratory inBelleville. With a history dating back to 1886, American Water is thelargest and most geographically diverse U.S. publicly traded water andwastewater utility company. The company employs more than 7,000 dedicatedprofessionals who provide regulated and market-based drinking water, wastewaterand other related services to 15 million people in 46 states. American Waterprovides safe, clean, affordable and reliable water services to our customersto help make sure we keep their lives flowing. For more information, visitamwater.com and follow American Water on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Media Contact: Rosemaria DiBenedetto, External CommunicationsConsultant, [email protected]