TEXAS, USA — With temperatures dropping below freezing and extreme wind chills in the forecast, you'll want to protect any exposed pipes at your house.
One viral hack claims you can actually use a Styrofoam cup and Texans have turned to using Whataburger cups.
It's a Lone Star State staple, but is this Texas chain good for more than just grabbing a bite to eat?
THE QUESTION
Can Texans use Whataburger cups to protect exposed pipes?
OUR SOURCE
Shawn Kelley, Manager; Facilities, Safety and Support Services at Texas A&M University-Central Texas
THE ANSWER
Yes! Any Styrofoam cup can protect your pipes during a freeze.
WHAT WE FOUND
"All of us probably have a Whataburger cup or any kind of Styrofoam cup from a fast food place that we've tossed behind the seat," Kelley said.
Kelley says Styrofoam is a great insulator.
"Thousands of air bubbles inside this cup are what gives it that insulating property," Kelley added. "When you fill it full of coffee, you don't burn your hands because that cup is insulating that heat from your hands. It works the same way in reverse. You're putting that faucet inside that cup to keep that cold weather from getting inside the cup, so the hot weather that you have inside the cup helps protect that from the cold outside."
That's why people are turning to Styrofoam cups to insulate exposed pipes.
While the cups aren't thick, Kelley says they can do the trick.
"It's not going to be as good as some of the actual products designed for use over your spigots outside the house," Kelley said. "If you don't have one, and you have a Whataburger cup or a Styrofoam cup of any sort. Certainly, I would use that over nothing."
How does it all work? Here's how.
"Poke a hole in the bottom of the cup," Kelley said. "Put some kind of cord, I recommend a rubber band, through there. Put a rubber band through that hole you poked in the bottom of the cup. Then, grab a pencil or a pen or any stick, something off a tree, whatever to hold that rubber band from going into the cup. Stretch that rubber band over the faucet, let it go. You might want to stack more than one because they're not very thick, so stack some cups together, poke a hole through it."
"Styrofoam makes sense," Kelley added. "You don't want it to be exposed because it might not leak right away because it's frozen. It's got ice inside it, but as soon as that thaws, you might be dumping hundreds of gallons a minute of water inside the walls of your house, and you don't want that. Please please insulate your faucets before the freeze hits in the next couple of days."
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