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Going with the flow: Cold temps can lead to frozen pipes

Posted at 7:01 PM, Dec 06, 2018
and last updated 2018-12-06 21:01:10-05

BOZEMAN, Mont.- Temperatures are dropping and many people may experience frozen pipes in their homes this winter.

It’s alarming to realize you have no water, and it’s most likely because your pipes are frozen.

They can freeze for various reasons.

“Having too many materials around the meter that doesn’t allow it to stay warm,” said  City of Bozeman Superintendent of Water and Sewer, John Alston. “In a crawl space situation having a vent open which allows cold air to come into the crawl space.”

This is something that is completely preventable this winter season. Alston says making sure you know where your water shut off is, inspecting your meter and seeing how warm it is around it, making sure there’s space around the meter and ensuring you don’t have cold air entering the meter should save you from frozen pipes.

If they do freeze, a common household item does the trick to warm them back up.

“This is what we carry with us is, to have a hairdryer,” said Alston. “The hair dryer is the safest way to thaw out a water service. The fire department will tell you don’t want to use a torch, you don’t want to have an open flame.”

If you need help with frozen pipes, you can call the city shops and they will talk you through unfreezing them.