01/23/2026
For those of you guys that have been living in a cave we're about to get hit here in Texas with some severe cold temperatures.
Just a couple tips from your favorite handyman company that you probably already know but just in case you don't....
Cover your outside hose faucets. Best thing is the insulated hard plastic covers from Lowe's or Home Depot. As of yesterday they still had them. If they're sold out and you have nothing else grab a bunch of towels and wrap them and put a little duct tape around the towels. It's better than nothing.
Check to see if your fireplace is working. Some fireplaces ( the kind where you flip a wall switch to turn it on )have emergency battery operation underneath the fire shelf. They are all a little different but you may want to check to see if you have that and if so you may need some D cell batteries. At least that's what mine takes.
Drip hot and cold water wherever possible. The reason you want to drip hot and cold is very often the hot water pipe is routed in the same wall space as the cold water pipe so the hot water pipe will radiate heat in the wall space and help keep the cold water from freezing. If you have a one handle shower you can't really do that without turning it on full blast so you'll just have to drip cold water there.
Charge up your phones and any backup batteries you have.
Check your flashlights and if they're rechargeable recharge them now.
If you have salt for your sidewalks make sure you apply it before they start freezing not afterwards. The salinity raises the freezing temperature of water but it doesn't melt the ice.
I have a saltwater pool which probably half of you have and I always add an extra bag of salt. Again raising the salinity of the water lowers the freezing temperature.
Hopefully if you have a pool you've already checked that your freeze guard is working. If it's not you can try calling a pool company but good luck with that at this point.
If your car windshield or doors gets covered in ice do you not throw hot or warm water on it. You can crack that glass windshield or window.
Based on the images I've seen everyone reading this has enough toilet paper and bottled water for the next 30 Years so won't even talk about that🤣
If your kids go out in this weather make sure they have extreme cold weather gear with them. Even if it's a run to Starbucks if that car breaks down and it's 8° out it's going to be a problem ( that's from the dad and me not necessarily the handyman)
If you have a portable generator don't run it in the house or the garage. I know- common sense right? But you'd be surprised
If you have a water shut-off valve for your house I would test it to make sure it's working. If you get a broken pipe you're going to need it. If you don't have one hopefully you have a water meter key and shut off tool so you can shut the water off at the meter if you have a break in a line. You might still be able to find them at Lowe's or Home Depot. It's not a hard task if you have the right tools.
Here is decent video by the city of Garland that shows you how to shut off local water meters. Yours may vary but the principle is the same.
Check out this video, "how to shut off the water at your meter video" https://share.google/14jvwtlWN5BIpEBXY
If your sprinklers don't have freeze protection make sure they're off right now.
Good luck, God bless, stay warm and safe.
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