How to Prevent Frozen Pipes

With our first major cold snap on the way, I thought I would share some tips on avoiding a frozen pipe disaster!

1.) Insulate any exposed water pipes in crawl spaces and attic. These exposed pipes are the most susceptible to freezing.

2.) If you don't already know where your homeowner's emergency water shut off valve is, locate it in case of emergency.

3.) Turn a trickle of warm water on in a faucet on an outside wall.

4.) Open cabinet doors to uninsulated pipes under sinks to allow heat in.

5.) Keep the heat on in your home to a minimum of 55 degrees.

6.) Unhook those water hoses and allow the hosebibs to drip!!!

If you turn on a faucet and nothing comes out, leave the faucet on, and inspect the pipes for a break. If nothing appears broken you can attempt to thaw them out by using a hair dryer or space heater starting close to the faucet and working down to the coldest section of pipe.

If you find a break, leave the faucet on, turn off the water to your home and give us a call!

Sarah Casebier

Radiant Plumbing

263-9988

Posted on Thursday, December 3, 2009 by Sarah Casebier

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9 comments (Add your own)

1. Emergency Plumbing wrote:: Great info on preparing for the winter... you hear so many stories about frozen pipes, but if you prepare just a little bit you can save yourself a whole lot of time and money. Thanks for the post
January 19, 2010 @ 11:45 AM
2. Pextubing wrote:: Nice pics! This winter a have this problem too )
January 26, 2010 @ 9:46 AM
3. Become a Plumber wrote:: Great advice, always useful at this time fo year
January 28, 2010 @ 7:23 AM
4. Atlanta Plumbing wrote:: We had a lot of freeze breaks here in Atlanta.
January 29, 2010 @ 4:03 AM
5. NETPLUMB wrote:: Thanks. Good information
February 24, 2010 @ 3:52 PM
6. Drain Solvers wrote:: Hey Radiant,

I think probably the single best tip you can give someone is to keep the heat up inside their home. Also, insulating the pipes with foam is cheap and effective. Anyway, some great tips here. Thanks for sharing!
February 25, 2010 @ 3:28 PM
8. Zaldy Rah wrote:: Nice post. It has always been my problem every winter. I have looked at many sites and not come across such a site as yours that tells everyone everything they need to know about DIY plumbing. I have added you to my bookmarks, can anyone else suggest other related topics that I can search for to find out more information?
April 13, 2010 @ 12:37 PM
10. emergency plumber wrote:: Thank you, this is a very interesting article. I'm looking for quality reading material for emergency plumbing problems and your article certainly meets the description. I hope you continue to issue these articles, I will continue to visit here often
May 6, 2010 @ 4:04 AM
11. Cincinnati Plumbers wrote:: Great article – just what I needed. Great advice
May 12, 2010 @ 11:52 AM

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