NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — With multiple days of freezing weather ahead, both homeowners and business owners need to take immediate action to protect their water pipes from costly damage.
I spoke with Metro Water Services to get the essential information everyone needs to know about preventing frozen pipes during this extended cold snap.
"Multiple days of this freezing event, and some of the same steps that business owners can take are what homeowners and residents can do as well," Sonia Allman, a Metro Water Services representative said.
The key issue is that small pipes, especially those that aren't used frequently, are particularly vulnerable. Many of these pipes are located on exterior walls of homes where they're exposed to the elements and can freeze very quickly.
Metro Water Services emphasizes that anything from the meter to the home and within the home is the homeowner's responsibility, making prevention crucial.
Essential steps to protect your pipes
The most important actions you can take include covering outdoor spigots or pipes with little or no insulation. This is especially critical for pipes on outdoor walls or in cold basements and crawl spaces.
"I know a lot of people have been running to hardware stores the past few days, put a blanket over it, something to protect it from the elements," Allman said.
Additional protective measures include keeping garage doors closed and opening cupboards to allow warm air to reach the pipes.
"We do a lot of the basics at home too, right? We'll leave the doors open to bathrooms, we leave dripping water," Germantown Cafe owner, Sean Lyons said.
The last time Nashville experienced a freeze, Metro Water Services reported many businesses returned to find frozen pipes after workers left for the weekend without keeping water trickling.
"Iif they burst, it sometimes takes 48, 72 hours to get them fixed," Lyons said.
Local businesses taking extra precautions
Germantown Cafe owner Sean Lyons has dealt with frozen pipes before and is taking extra care during this storm by investing in additional insulation.
"We actually built insulated doors that lead to our pipes, a lot of times under the buildings for some of the restaurants that we have," Lyons said.
While businesses like Germantown Cafe are keeping faucets trickling, they're also hoping that snowed-in neighbors might trickle in as customers.
"We may have truncated hours if we absolutely have to for safety purposes, but like I said, we rented a truck to shuttle employees in who are excited to work, we'll probably create some memories," Lyons said.
Know your water shut-off valve location
One crucial step you can take right now is locating your home's water shut-off valve. Metro Water Services recommends tying a ribbon on it so that if you're away from home when a pipe bursts, it's easier for others in the house to locate and shut off the water quickly.
This story was reported on-air by Amanda Roberts and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
