Tips to protect your home as temperatures drop below zero

As temperatures drop below zero across Minnesota, calls for home repairs are expected to increase.

Kevin Strandberg is the vice president of BWS Plumbing Heating and Air. He said this is one of those times during the year when they receive a lot of business.

"We anticipate significant call volume," Strandberg said. "This week, when temperatures drop, equipment’s going to be working for an extended period of time, and anytime that happens, that’s when breakdowns happen."

There are ways you can be proactive to keep your furnace running. For instance, make sure the filter is clean, and it’s important to keep your thermostat at a consistent temperature between 68 and 72.

"You don’t want to turn it to 65 during the day and 72 at night when it’s extreme like this because your equipment is going to have a hard time keeping up," Strandberg said.

Plus, to prevent pipes from freezing, keep cabinet doors open to allow heat in, and occasionally keep water running.

KSTP Weather Page

"Flush toilets, turn on baths, just make sure it’s flowing because if the water’s flowing, it’s not going to freeze," Strandberg said.

This cold snap of weather isn’t all that common for this time of year, according to KSTP Meteorgologist Jonathan Yuhas.

"Down here in the Twin Cities, we could see an actual air temperature of 20-below," Yuhas said. "The daylight hours are getting longer, the sun angle is getting as high in the sky as it was in October, so we really have a lot of things working against this kind of weather."

For a list of home tips with the cold weather, click here.