Sheldon, Iowa — With the extremely cold temperatures this week (and they’re only forecast to get colder), the Sheldon Public Works team has some advice for water customers.
City officials tell us the chances for frozen water pipes are greatly increased both inside and outside of your residence in the extreme cold. They’ve given us some tips to help protect your water pipes.
Make sure that your house is sealed well around doors, windows, and pipes that penetrate your walls or foundations. Open cupboards to allow more heat to get to areas along exterior walls. Install a heat tape on water lines that run close to exterior walls or foundations. Check the temperature of the water coming out of your cold water faucet. This time of year they say they would expect the water temperature to range between 45 and 50 degrees. They say if your water temperature is below 38 degrees, you will want to monitor it closely and may want to consider leaving a faucet running a slow rate.
They say taking a few precautions can help you avoid the inconvenience and expense of a frozen water pipe. Sheldon city officials say that if you own a single-family dwelling in the city limits (including rentals, if single-family), you may be eligible for a Service Line Warranty, which they say is “good gap coverage in the case of high homeowner’s insurance deductibles.” The link is www.slwofa.com.
