How to Prevent Frozen Pipes

Water pipes that freeze and burst cause millions of dollars of damage to homes every year. You can help protect your home from frozen pipes by following these tips.

Even a tiny crack in a water pipe cause spew hundreds of gallons of water a day. You can save yourself a lot of cleanup, and well as money and inconvenience, by taking some precautions before the temperature drops.

Insulate your pipes~
Exposed pipes are the most susceptible to freezing. You can insulate your pipes to help protect them. This may mean climbing into your home's crawl space or attic, but it's definitely worth the trouble to add that insulation. If you're lucky, most of your pipes will be mounted in an easy to reach open basement ceiling. You can find foam pipe insulating sleeves, as well as loose-fill and roll-out attic insulation, at your local home improvement store.

You can also wrap your pipes with "heat tape", a heated cable that winds around the pipe. Heat tape plugs into an electrical outlet. Be sure to read and follow the manufacturer's instructions exactly, to prevent a fire hazard.

Seal Leaks~
Cold air can get into your house, and affect your pipes, anywhere that an opening exists. Use insulation and caulk to seal all the points where pipes enter your home. During severe cold, even a small leak around those entrances can let in enough cold air to freeze your pipes.

Stop Outside Water~
Garden hoses can burst, too. So start by disconnecting and draining them before the temperature drops. If you have an indoor shut-off valve, turn it off, and then open the outside tap all the way. This will take water out of the short section of pipe that is closest to the outdoors, (the section that's most likely to freeze).

Waste Some Water~
Moving water cannot freeze. A trickle of water running through your pipes can be all it takes to keep them from freezing. If you're expecting a extreme weather, and you haven't had time to get insulation or heat tape in place, you may be able to save your pipes from freezing by turning on your faucets, just a little bit, so that the water keeping moving. It's wasteful, but done for a short while, it'll cost less than a busted pipe and a flooded house.

Leaving Town?
Make sure your home's thermostat is set no lower than 55°F (12°C) while you're away. Make sure a neighbor or friend has a key, and a copy of these instructions, so they can protect your pipes for you until you return.

If you're planning to be away for an extended period, you can keep your pipes from freezing by draining all of the water out of them before you leave. Just turn off the main water valve, and then turn on all the the inside and outside faucets. This will let the water run out. Once the pipes are empty, they won't burst, because there won't be any water to expand from inside them.