Oklahomans urged to prepare homes for freezing weather to avoid costly plumbing repairs

OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH) — With below-freezing temperatures on the forecast this week, plumbers are urging Oklahomans to prepare their homes to avoid costly repairs.

There are several different things you can do to make sure your pipes don’t burst when the freezing weather hits, and experts say preparing now could save you a lot of money and stress.

Brandon Morrison, the owner of Brandon’s Plumbing says when it comes to preparing your pipes for the extreme cold, you should start inside the home,

“The first thing I would say open up cabinets underneath the kitchen, the bathrooms, let the heat from the house get into the especially on outside walls let the heat come in,” Morrison said.

He also recommends covering your pipes and faucets with heat tape or insulation,

“If you can put heat tape on it if they’re exposed, definitely insulation or heat tape,” said Morrison, “There’s not really a way that you can heat tape outside faucets but you can put a cover over it and prevent it from freezing up and busting.”

Morrison says some pipes burst more than other types and need more insulation to prevent damage,

“There’s different types of water pipes that you have, they have PEX that’s flexible when it freezes, it’ll expand which that’s a little bit better of a pipe and then you have copper which copper once it freezes it splits and busts,” he said.

Making small purchases of insulation and faucet covers ahead of the freezing weather can save you a lot of money in the long run,

“Unfortunately, when you don’t take the precautions then a lot of times it could have been preventable,” Morrison said, “It is expensive and it’s the worst time it could happen because everybody’s needing their pipes fixed and the plumbers can only get to so many people and it’s hard for us because you got icy roads, snowing, you know it’s hard for us even to get out.”

Experts say to keep your faucets dripping when temperatures hit freezing and make sure you know how to turn your water off if a pipe does burst so you can avoid flooding in your home.

For more tips on how to prepare your home ahead of the freezing temperatures, click here.