November's Project for the Home
- , by Trudy Chuoke Trudy Chuoke
I have enjoyed writing about projects for each month this year. But this month instead of a project it is just a shopping list to get before the weather makes a quick turnaround. Instead of these cool mornings and moderate temperatures we've been having, we're getting freezing weather. It happens quickly —it’s like flipping a switch —and all of a sudden there is ice and the temperatures we Texans don’t enjoy.
Right now, you can easily purchase a Freeze Miser on most hardware store shelves. We always keep about 100 in stock year-round. In fact, I have sold several from the website in the past month. These are MY PEOPLE. And since I want you to be able to pick one up easily, I am going to write about why you need a Freeze Miser. But first, a story about what happened to me.
Remember February 14, 2021, when Texas was bombarded with snow, even in South Texas? And then, when the snow stopped, we still had temperatures that stayed in the teens for days. It brought the city of San Antonio to a halt. Our store was closed for 3 days. It wasn't very pleasant. I didn’t have heat, but I did have a gas fireplace. So, I was able to stay relatively warm. But being cold was the least of my worries. I have three outdoor faucets around my house. One is this extension on the original faucet that the previous owner used to wash his brand-new red Mustang convertible. The previous owner was 91, and I hope I have that much life in me at 91. Well, I had protected the other two outdoor faucets with Freeze Misers, but I had forgotten about this plumbing stepchild. So, when I listened to the weather, I went outside and covered up the faucet with towels and plastic. There was no way to put a faucet cover on it. Now, what I should have done was go back to the store that night and pick up another Freeze Miser. Well, that night the temperature dropped, and I woke up to a winter wonderland and no electricity. And the first day was all right. But the next night, the temperature stayed low, and the faucet that I thought I had covered well enough had started leaking. Like Niagara Falls. I went to turn off the water, and guess what, I couldn’t find the water meter under all that snow. If it weren’t for my neighbor next door, I would have never found it. And to say I was cold outside was a major understatement. At the time, I was sure I had frostbite. So now, along with no heat, I had no water. It is something that I never want to repeat.
So now, before the weather even thinks about 19 degrees, I equip all my faucets with Freeze Misers. All of them. So, what is a Freeze Miser? It’s the simplest way to protect your pipes from freezing temperatures. It’s a small white cylinder that threads onto your outdoor faucet like a garden hose. I remember when Jeff from Freeze Miser first showed it to me. I had that look on my face that most of my customers will have when I first show them the product. But that simple-looking device can save you hundreds and so many headaches. Here is how it works. After threading on Freeze Miser, turn your faucet on. And not just a trickle, turn it on full. If the water temperature stays above 37 degrees, nothing will happen. Not air temperature but water temperature. But if the temperature hits 37, your faucet will start to drip. It will be a very economical drip because in S. Texas, even freezing water is precious. And that drip is what will save your plumbing. Not just at the faucet level, but inside the wall. How does it know when to drip? Freeze Miser is equipped with Thermal Wax, so when the temperature drops, the wax shrinks, allowing it to drip, and the lower the temperature, the stronger the drip.
If you don’t listen to anything else that I write about, think about this. Protect yourself simply from freezing damage with a Freeze Miser. They are on our website, and the prices are still at last year's pricing.