How to Keep Pipes From Freezing in Winter

Prevention guide

Work the List Before December

Naugatuck's burst-pipe season runs December through February, peaking in January. Every item below is cheaper than one burst pipe — and the whole list takes a weekend.

1. Know your vulnerable pipes

Walk the house and find the runs most exposed to cold: pipes in exterior walls, unheated basements and crawlspaces, attics, garages, and any line feeding an outdoor hose bib. In Naugatuck's pre-war homes, also look for pipes run along old stone foundations — they radiate cold all winter. If you can see or touch a water pipe and it feels like it's sitting in the cold, it's on the list.

2. Insulate the exposed runs

Foam pipe sleeves are the simplest fix there is: slit tube insulation that snaps over exposed pipe in basements, crawlspaces, and garages. Cover every exposed run you found in step one, with no gaps at elbows and joints — cold finds the gaps. Insulation doesn't make a pipe warm; it slows heat loss, which is often the difference between freezing and not during an overnight cold snap. This is a Saturday-morning job with a utility knife and a tape measure.

3. Keep the thermostat at 55°F or higher — even when you're away

The single most common cause of a freeze burst we see isn't bad plumbing, it's a thermostat turned down too far. Keep the house at 55°F minimum whenever temperatures are below freezing outside — including when you're traveling. That costs a little extra heat, but it keeps the air around interior pipes warm enough to matter. And remember the insurance angle: many homeowners policies exclude freeze damage in an unheated home, so the 55°F rule protects your claim as well as your pipes.

4. Open cabinet doors under sinks on exterior walls

Kitchen and bathroom sinks on exterior walls hide pipes in dead air space behind a closed cabinet. Opening the cabinet doors lets warm room air reach them. It's free, it takes two seconds, and it matters most on the coldest nights. Do it every night temperatures drop into the teens or lower.

5. Let faucets drip during extreme cold

Moving water resists freezing, and an open faucet relieves the pressure buildup that actually splits the pipe. During severe cold snaps, let faucets on exterior walls drip — a slow steady stream, not a full flow. The water used costs far less than water damage costs. We've written a full guide on which faucets and how much if you want the details.

6. Disconnect hoses and shut off outdoor lines

Garden hoses left connected trap water in the hose bib, which freezes back into the pipe and splits it inside the wall. Disconnect every hose before the first hard freeze, drain the bibs, and if you have interior shutoff valves for outdoor lines, close them and drain the line. This is the most-forgotten item on the list and one of the most common sources of winter bursts.

7. Seal the drafts around pipes

Cold air blowing directly on a pipe defeats insulation. Check where pipes pass through exterior walls, sill plates, and foundation openings, and seal the gaps with caulk or expanding foam. Pay special attention to dryer vents, cable entries, and anywhere a pipe enters through an unfinished basement wall — those gaps can aim a stream of subfreezing air straight at a water line.

8. Consider heat cable for repeat trouble spots

If the same section freezes every winter despite insulation, heat cable (heat tape) is the answer: an electric cable run along the pipe that keeps it just above freezing, controlled by a built-in thermostat. It's made for exactly the spots that defeat passive insulation — long crawlspace runs, pipes on north-facing exterior walls. Use cable listed for the purpose, follow the manufacturer's instructions, and don't overlap the cable on itself.

9. Know where your main shutoff is

Prevention fails sometimes — that's why the shutoff matters. Find your main valve now, make sure it turns, and make sure everyone in the house knows where it is. A burst pipe with a known, working shutoff is a plumbing call. A burst pipe with a stuck or hidden shutoff is a flood.

The October version vs. the January version

Done in October, this list is calm weekend work: insulation, hose bibs, drafts, a thermostat plan. Done in January, the same list is emergency work in a freezing basement with water on the floor. The pipes don't care when you do it — but your stress level will. If any of it looks like more than a weekend — corroded runs that need replacing, sections that freeze every year, a shutoff that won't budge — that's our work: winter pipe protection in Naugatuck is one of the services we do, and October is the right month to schedule it.