Leave your faucets on a slow drip.

• To help prevent frozen pipes, run a spaghetti-thin trickle of water from the one faucet farthest away from your water meter when temperatures approach 32 degrees.
• Please run just a thin trickle. If residents across the city run more than that, it can contribute to a water pressure drop.

Open your cabinet doors to expose pipes.

• As an added precaution, open any cabinet (or regular) doors that hide the pipes under your sinks.
• This allows the heat from your home to “thaw out” the pipes and prevent condensation from freezing.
• If you have pipes in an unheated part of the home like a garage, try to keep them as warm as possible. Heat tape is a great solution for situations like these.

Be prepared to turn off your water (or disconnect hoses).

• Disconnect outdoor hoses.
• Know where to find the main water shutoff to your property in case a pipe does break.
• As temperatures climb and the ice thaws, be on the lookout for leaks around your property.

Turn up the thermostat

•  Make sure you leave the heat on at all times during a extreme cold weather.

• Use a programmable thermostat to customize the temperature in your home. Set it to one temperature while you’re home and another while you’re at work, school or asleep.
• Set the thermostat at the lowest comfortable temperature (recommended setting is 60 degrees). The lower the temperature is, the slower it loses heat and the more you save on your energy bill.

Dealing with a burst pipe?

If you experience a pipe burst in your home, turn off your water and drain your plumbing.

• To do this, locate the main water line from your water meter. 
• There should be a valve where the line enters your house. Turn it off. Then run all your indoor faucets to drain water from your pipes.
• Disconnect garden hoses and hoses to your washing machine. 
• As with any leak on private property, call a plumber immediately.

Prepare for Pets

If it’s too cold for you, it’s too cold for your pets.

• Bring all pets inside and out from the wintery elements.
• If you are unable to bring pets inside you must provide a shelter that protects from cold winds and rain, along with access to clean, unfrozen water.

Contrary to popular belief, pets are not insulated from the cold just because they have fur. Just as with people, prolonged exposure to cold temperatures can cause conditions such as hypothermia, frostbite and even death in animals.

Stray animals will seek warmth wherever they can find it.

• Cats left outdoors often crawl into a warm car engine to get warm.
• When that engine starts up the cat can be seriously injured or killed by the fan blade or belt.
• It’s much safer to keep your cat indoors in cold temperatures.
• Always honk your horn or tap your hood before starting your car to scare any cats from under your vehicle.
• If you have outside cats you take care of, either let them in your garage or build them a shelter with bins and boxes filled with blankets or hay.

New Orleans Humane Law and Rescue will be responding to emergencies only while the freeze plan is activated.

Emergencies include an animal hit by a car, an distress and in need of immediate help, and animal attacks.

If you do see an owned animal outdoors without shelter while the city has it’s freeze plan enacted, call 911 to alert New Orleans Humane Law & Rescue.

The LASPCA will be closed December 24 and 25, but will have an officer on standby 24/7 responding to emergency calls.

Prepare for Plants

• Cover vegetable, tender, and tropical plants with a light-colored material (e.g., a bedsheet) extending all the way to the ground. Try to avoid contact with the foliage.
• Cover citrus when temperatures stay below 32°F for 6+ hours.
• Covers should be put on in the afternoon before a freeze is expected; the afternoon sunlight will warm up the trapped air inside, which can keep the temperature above freezing. Remove or vent the covers during the day if the temperature warms or it is sunny. If there is a prolonged or severe freeze, consider adding incandescent string lights to warm the plant.
• Water soil around plants thoroughly.
• Protect the roots and rhizomes of tropical plants by spreading a 4-6 inch layer of mulch around the base of the plant.
• Bring non-cold hardy potted plants indoors (ex. garage or shed).

Your landlord should provide working heat in your home.

New Orleans Municipal Code Sec. 26-215:

Every dwelling unit shall be provided with heating facilities capable of maintaining a minimum room temperature of 68 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cooking appliances shall not be used to provide space heating to meet the requirements of this section.

How is room temperature measured?

New Orleans Municipal Code Sec. 26-216:

The required room temperature shall be measured three feet above the floor near the center of the room and two feet inward from the center of each exterior wall.

What about fuel-burning equipment?

According to New Orleans Municipal Code Sec. 26-218:

All fuel-burning equipment and appliances shall be connected to an approved chimney or vent.

Combustible and flammable items shall not be stored in the same area as fuel-burning equipment or appliances.