Here are a few tips to help avert water-related plumbing and landscaping woes:
- Wrap exposed pipes with good insulating material, available at hardware and building-supply stores.
- When away from home for an extended time, keep your central-heating system set on low to keep interior pipes from freezing.
- Don’t routinely leave your faucet dripping cold water to prevent pipes from freezing. This is only necessary under prolonged sub-freezing temperatures.
- Disconnect and drain all garden hoses.
- Water the ground around evergreens and subtropical plants.
- Practice preventative medicine: Put down heavy mulch on flowers and bulbs to reduce water needs and preserve soil warmth.
- In freezing temperatures, bring delicate container plants indoors or into a garage that receives outside light.
- Cacti are as resourceful as camels when it comes to storing water. After a soaking in mid-November, don’t water cacti again until March.
