Lots of snow and winter weather presents a great opportunity for things like sledding down the neighborhood hill or snowball fights in the neighbor's yard. That being said, winter weather can be tough on your home. Severely cold conditions can encourage the water lines in your home to freeze and burst, which could result in serious water damage and long-lasting negative effects.
If your pipes are frozen solid, you should hire a plumber in to fix them. However, there’s a lot you can attempt to prevent this from happening – and even just a bit of prevention can go a long way.
What Pipes Are at a Higher Chance of Freezing
The pipes at the greatest risk of freezing are exposed water lines. Frequent locations for uncovered pipes are in attic crawlspaces, near exterior walls, in the basement or even running under a modular home. Water lines that are not correctly insulated are at the highest risk.
How to Prevent Pipes from Freezing in Your Home
Properly insulating exposed water lines is a good first step to keeping your pipes free of ice. You’ll likely locate lots of these materials from the local plumbing company, and may also already have some somewhere in your home.
Be mindful not to wrap up other flammable insulation materials where they may light on fire. If you don’t feel safe insulating the pipes yourself, call your local plumbing services professional in to handle the job.
If you do prefer to insulate the pipes on your own, popular insulation materials for pipes include:
- Wraps or roll insulation: Multiple plumbers, hardware stores and national retailers sell insulation – usually fiberglass, foam wraps or pipe sleeves – that you can use to wrap or fit around your pipes. They are offered in various lengths and sizes to satisfy the needs of your home.
- Newspaper: To a decent degree, newspaper can be used as an insulator. If the weather is cooling down and you aren’t able to put in more insulation before then, wrap uninsulated pipes in this.
- Towels or rags: If you aren’t able to install insulation and don’t have any newspaper handy, wrapping especially vulnerable pipes with towels or clean rags as a final effort can be just enough to keep the cold air away from the pipes.
An additional preventative step you can attempt to prevent pipes from being covered in ice is to seal any cracks that could permit cold air inside your home. Focus on the window frames, which can allow in surprisingly intense drafts. Not only should this help to stop your pipes from freezing, but it will have the additional benefit of making your home more energy efficient.
Five More Ways to Keep Your Pipes from Freezing:
- Open the cabinet doors. Opening the cabinet doors underneath the sinks and other rooms of your home with pipes will permit more warm air from the rest of the room to get to the pipes.
- Letting water drip. Keeping the water flowing by letting your faucets move even a small amount can help avoid frozen pipes.
- Open interior doors. By opening doors between rooms or hallways, your home can be heated more consistently. This is particularly important if you struggle with a room that is frequently colder or hotter than the remainder of your home.
- Close the garage door. The exception to the open doors advice is the garage door, which you should keep down – especially if your water lines can be found near or under the garage.
- Keep the heat consistent. Experts encourage setting the thermostat at a stable temperature and leaving it there, rather than allowing it to get lower at night. Set it no cooler than 55 degrees.
How to Stop Pipes from Freezing in an Empty Home
When you’re in your own home, it’s easier to know when something goes wrong. But what extra steps can you try to stop pipes from freezing in a vacant home or vacation home when the consequences from a frozen pipe might not be discovered for some time?
As with the main residence, adding insulation to any exposed water lines, opening interior doors inside the home and winterizing the vacant home are the best steps to try at first.
Added Steps to Keep Pipes from Freezing in an Unused Home:
- Leave the heat on. Even though you aren't currently using the home, it’s best to keep the heat on – even if you adjust the thermostat down cooler than you would if you were there. As with a primary residence, experts encourage keeping the temperature at no colder than 55 degrees.
- Shut water off and drain the lines. If you’re going to be out of the house for an extended period of time or are winterizing a seasonal cabin or cottage, switching the water off to the house and clearing the water out of the water lines is an easy way to stop pipes from freezing and bursting. Try not to forget to clear the water out of your appliances, including the hot water heater, or the toilets. Confirm you clear out all the water from the system. If you are not sure of how to clear out the water from the pipes, or don’t feel secure performing it on your own, a plumber in will be delighted to step in.