Protecting Your Home From The Hard Freeze

MOBILE, Ala. (WPMI) As the temperatures dip, it's important to prepare your home in order to avoid costly repairs. When it comes to winterizing your home, it's pretty easy and inexpensive. Hopefully by now you've made preparations but if you haven't, be sure to go outside and cover outdoor faucets. Remove the garden hose and cover with either a foam faucet cover from your local hardware store or use a couple of Styrofoam cups and some duct tape if you have to. The Spring Hill Ace Hardware stayed busy this week, selling out of faucet covers at one point, which run about $3 a pop. "We've probably gone through 200 to 250 in probably a day and a half. It's the most popular item we have," said manager Christopher Straub. Darby Radcliff, a Mobile resident, spent much of her day preparing. She's hoping to prevent the headaches she's experienced in the past. "I've had pipes frozen, lots of people have, and you know we forget that we're not prepared at all," said Radcliff. Preventing pipes from bursting is easy. Pipe covers vary in price depending on the size, but usually only cost a couple bucks. "You don't want the pipes to freeze. Then, you'll have a leak when they thaw out and you really don't want that because your water bill will go sky high," said Straub. Don't forget about drafty windows, too. Caulking works well or you can purchase a window insulation kit from hardware stores. "It's a plastic that you can put on windows and then use a hair dryer to seal them in. Keeps out the drafts, the cold, saves energy," said Straub. "We just don't get the cold weather and it sneaks up on us. It's fun but it's a lot of preparation," said Radcliff. If you haven't already bought pipe insulation, you can use towels or duct tape. Also something easy to remember, let your indoor faucets drip overnight. A trickle of hot and cold water might be all it takes to keep your pipes from freezing.