Minutes of refreshing winter prep could spare you thousands of dollars as 2nd freezing night nears

If you made it through Monday night's cold weather unscathed, there is another opportunity for cold-related issues to pop up at home tonight.

Homeowners across the Houston area woke up frustrated. One Katy home spent part of the day without water after a sprinkler system exploded.

"It blew," Chris Smith with Elite Sprinkler Service said as he knocked icicles off the system.

Water froze at some point Monday night, exploding the pipes and coating the house's exterior in ice.

"You see the crack right there," Smith pointed out.

Smith said the phones have been ringing on Tuesday as customers find the same mess at their homes.

If you made it through last night all clear, right now is the time for a double-check and refresh. If blankets and covers over outdoor pipes and faucets are wet, replace them.

"Wrap it here all the way down with towels as much as possible and put a trash bag over the top of it to keep it dry," Smith advised.

Once indoor and outdoor pipes and faucets are insulated and dry, check your walls and ceilings for wet spots. Those could be indicators of a cracked pipe leaking into the drywall.

"Any exposed water you see, any wet spot on the wall, it's probably too late, but you can get on it quickly to keep further damage from happening," Troy Lubber, with Mr. Handyman, said.

Walk around your home exterior looking for puddles, wet spots, and icy patches that aren't typically there. If there's water where it shouldn't be inside or outside, turn off the water to your home and call a plumber.

"You can walk around and see a pipe that is exposed and do something about it. That could be the difference between a quick half hour of your time and a little bit of money versus thousands of dollars," Lubber said.

And if your home felt drafty Monday night, you can add caulk around windows and blankets under doors. Keeping heat in and cold out is going to save your electric bill at the end of the month.

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