Protect Your Home from Freeze Ups

Are you a second homeowner?  Follow these important steps to protect your home from freeze ups in between visits:

1. Keep your thermostat set at a minimum of 55 degrees.  Your pipes are located within walls and cabinets that stay cooler than the main temperature in the room, so a setting lower than 55 may not be sufficient to keep your pipes from freezing.
2. Sign up for automatic delivery with your fuel company.  Time can slip away from you when you’re not at the house, and running out of fuel is a common cause for freeze ups.
3. Keep a path shoveled for the heating companies to ensure deliveries.  Hire a plowing contractor that will also keep the path to the fuel or fill tanks clear for the delivery person.
4. Have a low temperature alarm installed.  If you do run out of fuel, or if your furnace fails, a low temperature alarm will alert you once the temperature falls below a specified level.  This has saved many of our customers who otherwise would not have known there was a problem until the next time they came up to use the house.
5. Turn your well pump off when you leave the house after your stay.  If all else fails and your house has a freeze up, having your well pump off can save you from huge amounts of water damage.  If your well pump is on when you have a freeze up, and pipes are burst, the water will start running once there is a thaw… and it will keep running and running until it is discovered.  This is easily prevented by flipping your well pump breaker into the off position before you leave the house.

TIP:  To determine whether your power is on from a remote location, call the house.  If the answering machine picks up, the power is on!

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