BEFORE THOSE TEMPERATURES START TO PLUMMET. SATURDAY IS THE TIME TO GET YOUR HOUSE IN LINE BEFORE TEMPERATURES DROP. SUNDAY. PLUMBER CHRIS DRISCOLL SAYS. THAT STARTS WITH PROTECTING WATER PIPES. IT DOESN’T HURT TO BUMP UP THE TEMPERATURE INSIDE THE HOUSE A COUPLE EXTRA DEGREES, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT GETS THAT COLD. ANOTHER BIG THING WITH AS FAR AS FREEZING GOES, IF YOU DO HAVE A FAUCET THAT’S KNOWN FOR FREEZING OR HAS A PAST HISTORY, YOU COULD ALWAYS TRICKLE THE WATER. IF THE PIPES DO FREEZE, DRISCOLL SAYS, CALL YOUR LOCAL PLUMBER. THEY HAVE MACHINES THAT THAW OUT THE PIPES QUICKLY BEFORE THEY BURST. BUT WHATEVER YOU DO, DON’T TRY TO USE AN OPEN FLAME. FURNACES WILL ALSO BE RUNNING NONSTOP. MAKE SURE YOUR FILTERS ARE CLEAR. IF YOU USE ONE INCH FILTERS, CHANGE THEM EVERY MONTH OR EVERY OTHER MONTH. FOUR INCH FILTERS PROBABLY TWICE A YEAR, THREE TIMES A YEAR. CHANGE THE BATTERIES IN THE THERMOSTATS. MAKE SURE YOUR FLUE PIPES ON THE OUTSIDE ARE CLEAR OF ICE OR SNOW. LOCAL FIREFIGHTERS SAY MAKE SURE YOUR CARBON MONOXIDE ALARMS ARE WORKING BECAUSE OF ALL THOSE APPLIANCES. SO YOUR FURNACE GENERATORS, ANYTHING IN YOUR HOUSE THAT HAS ANY TYPE OF HEATING, HOT WATER TANK, THINGS LIKE THAT. SO IF IN THE IN THE NEED OF THE CO EVERYTHING’S COLD OUTSIDE. SO EVERYTHING’S GOING TO BE RUNNING OVERTIME UNLESS YOU REALLY HAVE TO GO OUT, STAY HOME. AND IF YOU DO NEED TO GO OUTSIDE BUNDLE UP. DOCTOR BRANT RAUSCH SAYS ELDERLY AND VERY YOUNG PEOPLE ARE LIKELY TO HAVE A HARDER TIME REGULATING BODY TEMPERATURES, AND DO HAVE A HIGHER CHANCE OF GETTING HYPOTHERMIA IF YOU HAVE SKIN EXPOSED FOR MINUTES, YOU KNOW, TEN, 15 MINUTES AND YOU’RE NOT, WHETHER IT BE YOUR HANDS OR SOME PART OF YOUR BODY THAT’S NOT COVERED UP APPROPRIATELY, IT’S ONLY GOING TO TAKE A FEW MOMENTS, POTENTIALLY, TO START HAVING THE BEGINNING CHANGES OF YOUR SKIN. RELATED TO FROSTNIP AND EVENTUALLY FROSTBITE. DUQUESNE LIGHT ALSO TELLING RESIDENTS THAT IF YOUR POWER WERE TO GO OUT, MAKE SURE ALL OF YOUR IMPORTANT ELECTRONICS ARE CHARGED AND THEN ALSO HAVE AN EMERGENCY KIT WITH THINGS LIKE NONPERISHABLE FOOD, WATER, MEDICATION, CLOTHES AND FLASHLIGHTS ON STANDBY. REPORTING LIV
Prepare your home for the cold: expert advice on staying safe
Updated: 11:20 PM EST Jan 17, 2025
With temperatures set to drop on Sunday, Saturday is the perfect day to ensure your home is ready for the cold.”It doesn’t hurt to bump up the temperature inside the house a couple extra degrees, especially when it gets that cold,” plumber Chris Driscoll said.As a preventative measure, he also suggests trickling water from faucets known to freeze.”If you do have a faucet that’s known for freezing or has a past history, you could always trickle the water,” Driscoll said.If pipes do freeze, Driscoll warned against using open flames to thaw them. He has machines that will thaw them quickly. Furnace maintenance is also crucial during cold spells.Brady Benedetti from Metro Heating & Cooling said, “Just make sure your filters are clear. If you use one-inch filters, change them once a month or every other month. Four-inch filters, probably twice a year, three times a year. Change the batteries in the thermostat, make sure the flue pipes on the outside are clear of ice and snow.”Firefighters at Monroeville Station 4 said to check your carbon monoxide alarms due to the increased use of heating appliances.”Your furnace generators, anything your house that has any type of heating, hot water tank, things like that, everything’s going to be running overtime,” Josh Pasko said. For those venturing outside, Deputy Chief Thomas McDonough said, “Unless you really have to go out, stay home.”Dr. Brent Rau, medical director of the emergency department at Allegheny General Hospital, said older people and children are more susceptible to getting hypothermia. “If you have skin exposed for minutes, you know, 10, 15 minutes — it’s only going to take a few moments, potentially, to start having the beginning changes of your skin related to frostnip and eventually frostbite,” he said.
With temperatures set to drop on Sunday, Saturday is the perfect day to ensure your home is ready for the cold.
“It doesn’t hurt to bump up the temperature inside the house a couple extra degrees, especially when it gets that cold,” plumber Chris Driscoll said.
As a preventative measure, he also suggests trickling water from faucets known to freeze.
“If you do have a faucet that’s known for freezing or has a past history, you could always trickle the water,” Driscoll said.
If pipes do freeze, Driscoll warned against using open flames to thaw them. He has machines that will thaw them quickly.
Furnace maintenance is also crucial during cold spells.
Brady Benedetti from Metro Heating & Cooling said, “Just make sure your filters are clear. If you use one-inch filters, change them once a month or every other month. Four-inch filters, probably twice a year, three times a year. Change the batteries in the thermostat, make sure the flue pipes on the outside are clear of ice and snow.”
Firefighters at Monroeville Station 4 said to check your carbon monoxide alarms due to the increased use of heating appliances.
“Your furnace generators, anything your house that has any type of heating, hot water tank, things like that, everything’s going to be running overtime,” Josh Pasko said.
For those venturing outside, Deputy Chief Thomas McDonough said, “Unless you really have to go out, stay home.”
Dr. Brent Rau, medical director of the emergency department at Allegheny General Hospital, said older people and children are more susceptible to getting hypothermia.
“If you have skin exposed for minutes, you know, 10, 15 minutes — it’s only going to take a few moments, potentially, to start having the beginning changes of your skin related to frostnip and eventually frostbite,” he said.
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