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Chilly temperatures bring reminder: watch for frozen pipes

Bozeman Water & Sewer warns how to watch for, prevent pipes from freezing
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As things get colder, the chance of your pipes following suit and freezing grows — and that’s exactly what Bozeman city officials are hoping to prevent.

If your pipes froze, you may have seen property damage in some of the worst cases.

The Bozeman Water and Sewer Division says property damage can happen when pipes burst, including to your floors, carpets, even walls and electrical fixtures.

So the department is reminding once again, there are ways to prevent it.

Make sure heat can get to your pipes.

Remove anything that could be blocking them off.

Also, make sure any heat tape is plugged in.

And closing vents to your crawlspace can help make a difference.

“I think in everybody’s experience that this cold has come a little bit sooner than we had anticipated, but it’s Montana," says Nick Pericich, Bozeman Water & Sewer Division assistant superintendent. "Definitely this is a preventable thing but if you can’t prevent it, there are ways in which you can kind of troubleshoot it and thaw it yourself.”

The assistant superintendent of the department also says a blow dryer and knowing how to turn off your water -- with a quarter-inch turn of a wrench -- can also help as home remedies to frozen pipes.