As the temperature gets colder, it's important to keep your pipes from freezing. If your pipes freeze, they can swell, crack, or burst, causing expensive damage to your rental.

To help you during the winter months, we've compiled a list of tips on how to prevent frozen pipes and what to do if they do freeze!

How to Prevent Frozen Pipes

1. Let cold water drip from faucets. Running water through the pipes, even just a trickle, can help prevent them from freezing.
2. If you plan to be away during cold weather, make sure to set your thermostat to no lower than 55°F. Setting your thermostat too low will cause there not to be enough warm air to keep your pipes from freezing.
3. Keep the thermostat set to the same temperature during the day and night. If you usually turn your thermostat down to sleep, this could cause pipes to freeze overnight.
4. Open kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors to allow warmer air to circulate around the plumbing. This is especially important if your sinks are on an exterior wall.
5. Keep garage doors closed, especially is there are water supply lines in the garage. Allowing cold air to reach the pipes could cause them to freeze.

If you turn on your faucet and only a trickle comes out, you might have a frozen pipe. You must be careful when thawing the pipe, because if the pipe has already burst, water will come flowing into your home.

If your pipe has broken, you will need to turn off the water at the main shutoff valve. This is located at the water meter or where the main line enters the house. If you cannot shut off the main water valve on your own, please contact the water company or MiddleTown for assistance.

As long as the pipes did not burst, you can attempt to thaw your pipes by following the steps below.

How to Thaw a Frozen Pipe

1. Turn on the faucet. As you thaw the pipe, the water will need to be able to flow through. Running water will help to thaw the pipe as well.
2. Apply heat to the section of the pipe. This can be done by using an electric heating pad around the pipe, an electric hair dryer, or a portable space heater. You can also wrap towels soaked with hot water around the pipe. DO NOT use a blow torch, kerosene or propane heater, charcoal stove, or any device with an open flame. The high heat can damage the pipes or cause a fire. Please always use caution with space heaters!
3. Apply heat until the full water pressure is restored. Check all other faucets in the home to see if you have any additional frozen pipes.

If you've having difficulties with a potentially frozen pipe, don't worry! If you call MiddleTown, our maintenance team can help you fix the problem. It is better to be cautious than to cause more damage attempting to fix the issue yourself!

If you have a water emergency, please call our maintenance line. For after-hours issues, please use our emergency maintenance number at 765-587-0280.