With freezing temperatures and snow in the forecast we asked our weatherization experts for tips for protecting your home and making it as energy efficient as possible. Here's what they said:
1) Keep the garage doors closed
Keep garage doors closed, especially if there are water supply lines in the garage.
2) Open the kitchen cabinets
Open kitchen cabinets to allow warmer air to circulate around plumbing, especially if sinks are on exterior wall. If children are in the house make sure to remove harmful chemicals to a safe place.
3) Protect your outside spigot
That outside spigot? Turn the water off to the spigot. Open and drain. Wrap or cover with insulating dome.
4) Let water drip from your faucet
The one tip that seems counter-intuitive for an energy saving agency to recommend is to let water drip from faucet. A dripping faucet wastes some water, so only pipes vulnerable to freezing should be left with water flowing. The drip can be very slight, but running water through the pipe, helps prevent pipes from freezing.
5) Keep your thermostat the same temperature
Keep your thermostat set the same both during the day and night. This temporary change may give you a higher heating bill, but can help prevent a much more costly repair job if pipes freeze and burst.
6) Contact our weatherization team when the freezing ends!
When the freezing emergency ends contact the Multnomah County low-income Weatherization Program to protect your home for winters to come!
