Preventing Frozen Pipes and Meters

• Find the main water shut-off valve to your home. Show all household members how to turn it off in case of a burst pipe or similar emergency.
• The pipes most likely to freeze are those nearest to an uninsulated wall, door, window, garage, attic, basement, or along an uninsulated floor.
• Add insulation to exterior walls wherever possible and wrap pipes with insulation.
• Eliminate cold drafts near water pipes and your water meter. Make sure all doors and windows to the outside are tightly closed, including those in basements and crawl spaces. Fill cracks in walls and around windows, replace cracked glass, and install storm windows on basement windows.
• Disconnect and drain garden hoses from outside faucets, and turn off the connection to those faucets at the interior valve. Drain any exposed pipes. Insulate outside faucets and backflow devices with newspaper, rags or similar material, covering them with plastic and securing with string or wire.
• Winterize irrigation systems.
• If your kitchen or bathroom sink is located against an outside wall, insulate the wall and exposed pipes. Open cabinet doors to allow warm air to circulate around the pipes.
• Open the doors to rooms where the pipes and water meter are located so warm air can keep temperatures above freezing.
• Cover foundation vents with foam blocks or cardboard.
• If your water meter is in an outdoor pit, check to see that the pit cover fits properly and has no cracks through which cold air can flow. Inside the pit, check to make sure that the pipes, valves and water meter itself aren’t touching the pit’s walls.
• Letting a faucet, fed by pipes exposed to extremely cold weather, drip can prevent the water inside from freezing. Flowing water can still freeze but this method makes it somewhat more difficult for the water to freeze.  This will also increase your consumption, but is less costly than repairs to pipes or a replaced water meter.
• When you’re away, never completely shut off the heat unless you drain all the pipes and toilets first. If you do this, be sure to turn off your water heater first, and drain your heating system’s pipes and radiators, too.
• Flowing water can also break up ice that has started to freeze inside pipes. Turn on the water periodically at all faucets that are exposed to cold air when outside temperatures have been below freezing for several days.

If you see or suspect damage to your water pipes:

• Call a plumber for assistance.

If you see or suspect a frozen or damaged water meter:

• Please call Red Lion Municipal Authority at 717-244-3475.
• You will need to be home when we replace your damaged meter.
• As the homeowner, you are responsible for the water meter and the pipes on either side.  You will be charged for any service calls needed to replace the water meter after normal business hours.
• You will be charged for the cost of the water meter to be replaced.

If there is no sign of damage to pipes or the meter, but just a lack of water flow:

• Leave the faucet open as you attempt to thaw the pipe that feeds it.
• Once water starts flowing again, open a nearby faucet to allow a small stream of water to flow through the pipes. Keep that small flow running until you correct the problem that caused the pipe to freeze – most likely cold drafts and a lack of warm air circulating around the pipes or meter.  This may increase your monthly consumption.