The calendar is flipping to the final few months of the year. Temperatures are starting to drop, and before you know it, you’ll be seeing snow and ice start to cover the ground. One of the most common questions homeowners ask is, “How can I keep my pipes from freezing?”
In this guide, the experts at Flow-Tech Plumbing & Heating will walk you through simple and effective ways to keep your pipes safe during the cold months ahead. From insulating exposed areas to maintaining consistent indoor temperatures, we’ll cover everything you need to know to prevent frozen pipes and keep your home comfortable all season long.
Insulate Exposed Pipes
Exposed pipes can be greatly impacted by the surrounding temperatures. This means any pipes along exterior walls or in colder areas of the home can freeze quickly when temperatures drop. Even a brief cold snap can cause standing water inside those pipes to solidify, leading to blockages or, worse, burst pipes.
To prevent this, start by identifying any exposed pipes or plumbing systems in unheated areas such as basements, crawl spaces, attics, garages, and under sinks along exterior walls. Once located, wrap these pipes with foam pipe insulation or rubber insulation tubes.
These materials are cost-effective and can go a long way toward preventing frozen pipes in your home.
Keep the Heat On
When you leave the home, it can be tempting to program your thermostat to shut off completely, as it’s only heating an empty house. But this can actually cause your pipes to freeze, as they will have nothing to protect them from the frigid, or even freezing-cold, air.
Even if nobody is home, we recommend leaving the heat on. If you’re looking for a way to reduce your energy usage while away, you can bump the thermostat down to a lower temperature. As long as the thermostat is set to at least 55 degrees Fahrenheit, your home should stay warm enough to prevent your pipes from freezing.
This temperature helps maintain a baseline level of heat throughout the house, especially in areas where plumbing runs along exterior walls or through unheated spaces.
Drain Outdoor Hoses
As temperatures drop, one of the easiest and most effective ways to protect your plumbing is to drain and disconnect your outdoor hoses. When water is left sitting inside hoses, it can freeze, expand, and back up into the connected faucet or pipe inside your home, potentially causing it to burst.
Before the first freeze of the season, make it a habit to disconnect all garden hoses from outdoor spigots. Once removed, drain any remaining water by stretching the hose out on a slope or coiling it loosely to let gravity do the work. Store your hoses in a garage, shed, or basement where they’ll stay dry and protected until spring.
Let Cold Water Drip From a Faucet
Part of the reason pipes freeze is that the water is sitting stagnant in the pipes. When water is moving, it’s much harder to freeze, as the continuous flow helps relieve pressure and keeps the temperature inside the pipe slightly higher. Allowing a small trickle of cold water to drip from a faucet, especially one connected to pipes along exterior walls or in unheated areas, can make a big difference on extremely cold nights.
You don’t need to let the water run at full strength; just a slow, steady drip is enough to keep it moving. It can seem like you’re wasting water, but the truth is you could be preventing disaster.
Focus on faucets that are farthest from your home’s main water line, since they’re often the most vulnerable to freezing.
Add Insulation to the Home
For a long-term solution, consider increasing the amount of insulation in your home. Adding insulation to your garage, attic, basement, or crawl space will help prevent outdoor temperatures from seeping into vulnerable areas where pipes are most exposed. Cold air can easily find its way into uninsulated spaces, which quickly lowers the temperature around your plumbing and increases the risk of freezing.
To start, look for any areas where you feel drafts or where pipes run along exterior walls. These points will be the most susceptible to cold air and should be your first priority. Adding insulation in these spots helps trap heat inside and keeps your plumbing at a more consistent temperature.
When insulating these areas, we recommend using materials like fiberglass batts, spray foam, or foam board to seal gaps and cracks. These materials will have the greatest impact and last for years with minimal maintenance.
Choose Flow-Tech for Plumbing Services in Northern Indiana
From Fort Wayne and Goshen to Columbia City, Ligonier, and the surrounding Northern Indiana communities, local homeowners trust Flow-Tech’s plumbing services for year-round comfort and safety.
Not sure about the condition of your pipes? Worried about your pipes freezing this winter? Need a plumbing contractor you can rely on? Give the local plumbers at Flow-Tech a call today! We’re proud to provide reliable solutions that homeowners across all of Northern Indiana can count on!
