iDeal Realty & Management Phoenix Property Management: Surviving the "Cold Snap"

Those of us who live full time in the Valley of the Sun rarely get to see temperatures that are below freezing for any length of time, but this last week has been rather unusual as it has been below freezing for multiple days in a row and to top it off the High Temperature has been about 20 degrees cooler than normal.

Here are some tips to help you deal with this cold snap

Water pipes can and generally will freeze in any temperatures below 32 degrees, especially here in The Valley of the Sun, where most pipes are exposed to the air out side of the house. However there are some simple steps that you can take to keep the pipes from freezing. First of all it is a good idea to wrap them up in an old towel or jacket to keep them warm especially of the night time temperature is going to be below 25 degrees and there will be a slight breeze. The second thing to do is to keep the water running just a trickle at one of the faucets generally the one furthest from the main water line. This will keep a small amount of water flowing and moving water is harder to freeze then water that is standing still.
Plants need protection from the cold also. Most of the plants that are planted in the valley are chosen to be able to survive the extreme summer time temperatures and as such are not well equipped by nature to survive extreme cold. To help your plants survive the cold it is important to make sure that they are kept as warm as possible, this means making sure the roots have substantial ground cover, you can do this by mounding up some extra soil a the base of the plant. Another step to take in extreme cold is to take an old bed sheet or blanket and drape it over the plant to help protect it from the cold. If the plant is small enough you might want to bring it inside until the outside temperature warms up.