Dayton Rotary Club President Ann Maria Mitchell started the meeting off with the welcome, the prayer and the pledge before turning the program over to Rotarian Rachel Ansley.
“With the cool front coming our way, I thought it would be a good idea to give our members some tips and hints to get our houses winterized.,” explained Ansley. She then introduced Jimmie Cullars, owner of Bear Plumbing to give the club some suggestions to prepare their homes for the upcoming winter months. Cullars provided a guide on what to do when there is a true, but rare, Texas freeze.
“Frozen pipes can be a hassle and can end up costing a lot of money. Texas rarely has cold, freezing temperatures so the knowledge on what to do when a freeze comes is small. Every time there is a freeze, I get hundreds of calls after the freeze about busted pipes,” said Cullars.
When asked how to keep pipes from freezing, Cullars gave the club several ideas to help insulate pipes:
- Wrap any and all exposed pipe with foam installation.
- Leave water faucets dripping steadily (not just a little drip).
- Disconnect all water hose from their faucets and cover the spouts with styrofoam covers.
- Run your heater.
- Open cabinet doors under the sinks adjacent to outside walls.
- Take extra precautions on pipes that have frozen before.
- Open up your attics doors to allow heat to circulate.
- If you plan to be away from your home with freezing weather approaching, then turn off your water system.
Cullars advised that if pipes do freeze try using a blow dryer to help melt the ice or use a heating pad or anything that could help melt the ice except an opened flame.
“You want to try to get pipes to defrost before they burst. Remember, they can burst within 3 hours or less,” Cullars warned.
After the very informative presentation, the Rotary Club members had many questions and shared their own horror stories from the past. The Club thanked Cullars for coming and were led by President Mitchell in the 4-Way Test as they adjourned the meeting.