The cold weather last week can best be described as brutal and destructive. Even having the Colts win the Superbowl could not persuade Mother Nature to grace Indianapolis with some milder temperatures!
I ran more that my fair share of freeze calls this past week which made for some very long days. The bad news is that we're not through yet, but I do have some more information that may help in coping with freeze situations.
If you can't shut off the main water at the valve inside of the house, the next step would be to shut the water off at the water meter. Most homes built within the last 30 years will have a meter pit in the yard that contains the water meter for the house.
It is strongly recommended that you leave shutting off the water at the water meter to a licensed plumber or water company employee.
Knowledge of the location of your meter pit can be critical when the water needs to be shut off quickly. If a plumber or the water company has to search for it, precious minutes can be lost that can result in much more property damage to your home.
With predictions for significant snow accumulation within the next few days, now is the time to find out and mark the location of your meter pit. You can use a small yard flag, a broom stick or anything that would make the location obvious.
Taking a digital picture or just pacing off the location from a landmark in the yard can help.
Take the drain line for the washing machine and have it located on an outside wall, throw in sub-zero temperatures and what do you get? Dirty laundry. I say this because I have had several freeze calls where the drain line for the washing machine had frozen and flooded the house when the washing machine went to drain.
Most homes being built today have main water shut- off valves that are readily accessible. This is important both to do plumbing service work and for emergencies when the house may be flooding from a burst or leaking water line.
It is important to know where the main shut-off is and whether or not it is operating properly. If the valve is the lever handle type as pictured above, a quarter turn of the handle will shut the water off. If the valve has a wheel type handle, it may take 5-6 turns to shut the water off. Caution- If the handle won't move, don't force it!
If your house is on a full or partial crawlspace, the main shut-off valve may very likely be in the crawl area where the main water service comes up through the ground.
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