Cold Weather Tips

When the temperature takes a nosedive, water in your pipes can freeze causing them to burst. Water floods your home and ruins your furnishings, and you have to pay to have it all repaired and replaced. It’s costly and inconvenient.

Louisville Water offers these simple precautions to help avoid a mess.

Wrap it, Cover it, Close it & Drip it

Find your shutoff valve and tag it.

Locate your inside water shutoff valve now before it’s too late. The shutoff valve controls all of the water into your home. If a pipe bursts, knowing the location of your shutoff valve and how to turn it off can save valuable time and prevent water damage.

The shutoff valve may be located in the basement, under the kitchen sink, in a utility closet, near the hot water heater, or even under the house in a crawl space. If you cannot locate or do not have a shutoff valve, call your plumber.

Try turning off your shutoff valve. Then turn on each of the faucets in your house. If no water comes out, you found the main shutoff valve. Once you locate it, tag it so everyone in your family can find the shutoff valve during an emergency. Louisville Water offers free, waterproof tags that attach to the valve. Customers can get tags at Louisville Water’s downtown office at 550 South Third Street. You can also use a bright-colored ribbon.