by Shelley Kishpaugh

Created on: April 14, 2009

Preventing water pipes from freezing is very important. An enormous amount of water damage can result from one small leak. There are several ways of going about preparing your water pipes for winter.

Keep the water running.

This is a simple, yet effective, method for keeping pipes from freezing. Experts suggest turning on both the hot and cold faucet to a tiny trickle. Moving water is far less likely to freeze. This is an excellent solution if you are going to be away from your house for only a short time. If you are winterizing a cabin and will be gone for many months, this is not the best method to use, since it will increase your water bill unnecessarily.

Keep the cabinets open.

This method is useful by itself, but is also good to use if you plan to leave your water taps trickling. The goal is to allow the warmer air from the room to circulate around the pipes under the cabinets. Open the doors to each of the cabinets that have water pipes running through them. Remember to open the cabinets under each bathroom sink as well as the ones under the kitchen sink.

Insulate all cracks.

Cold air from the outside is murder on your pipes. If you have any holes, cracks or areas of cooler air coming through, buy some expanding foam insulation and spray it into your problem areas.

Insulate the pipes.

Make sure that your pipes are well insulated, particularly if you plan to turn the heat down for any extended period of time. Your local hardware store will have a variety of suitable insulations for pipe. If you explain to them what pipes you wish to insulate, they can aid you in choosing the most appropriate product.

Use heat tape.

Heat tape is a type of self-adhesive tape that has wires running through it. Once you wrap the pipe with heat tape, you simply plug the tape into an outlet. The tape heats up, keeping your pipes warm. Be sure to follow the manufacturer's instructions to the letter when using this type of product, since water and electricity only play nicely together under proper circumstances.

Keep the heat above 55 degrees.

If you are going to be away for only a few days, you may turn the heat way down, but do not turn it off, unless you have planned for it by utilizing some heat tape or draining the pipes.

Drain the pipes.

Draining the pipes can be done by shutting off the water to the house and running all the taps dry. If you intend to do this frequently (such as in the case of a seasonal cabin), you might want to have a plumber come to install a blow out valve, such as people use for underground sprinkler systems. It is far easier to ensure that your pipes are water free if you can connect an air compressor to the pipelines and run air through them to force the water out.

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