Protect your pipes!

1. A trickle of hot and cold water might be all it takes to keep your pipes from freezing. Let warm water (a mix of cold & hot water) drip overnight, preferably from an indoor faucet on an outside wall.
2. Keep your thermostat set at the same temperature both day and night. You might be in the habit of turning down the heat when you’re asleep, but further drops in the temperature – common overnight – could catch you off guard and freeze your pipes. Do NOT turn the heat lower than 65 degrees.
3. Open cabinet doors to allow heat to get to un-insulated pipes under sinks and appliances near exterior walls.
4. Be sure the heating vents are open in the kitchen, bathrooms, laundry rooms or any room where there are pipes, faucets, fridges with water lines, washing machines, etc.
5. Remove hoses from outside faucets and be sure the faucets are off and the lines are drained if there is an outdoors sink.
6. If you will be gone during periods of extreme cold, you or a roommate, friend, or family member should check on your apartment periodically. NEVER turn your heat off when leaving town. You might save a buck on the heating but it’ll cost you a whole lot more in damages if pipes freeze!

Please call immediately if you have an emergency. If it is after hours, call the office anyway, leave a message, and then try your emergency contact numbers.  Email us a followup. Someone will see it. We want to help ASAP. 

You can of course also submit a ticket to us for non-emergency items.

From The Weather Channel:
Letting a faucet drip during extreme cold weather can prevent a pipe from bursting. It’s not that a small flow of water prevents freezing; this helps, but water can freeze even with a slow flow. Rather, opening a faucet will provide relief from the excessive pressure that builds between the faucet and the ice blockage when freezing occurs. If there is no excessive water pressure, there is no burst pipe, even if the water inside the pipe freezes. The drip can be very slight. Even the slowest drip at normal pressure will provide pressure relief when needed. Where both hot and cold lines serve a spigot, make sure each one contributes to the drip, since both are subjected to freezing. If the dripping stops, leave the faucet(s) open, since a pipe may have frozen and will still need pressure relief.

Thanks again for being an Elkins Apartments Resident.

Cuddle up! Stay Warm!