How to Prevent Frozen Pipes in Chenango and Madison County Homes

In our experience, frozen pipe calls come from the same handful of places again and again:

• Kitchen sink lines on exterior walls, especially when the sink sits under a window.
• Bathroom supply lines in additions that were built over a crawl space or on posts.
• Pipes running along the rim joist at the top of a basement wall, where cold air leaks in around the sill plate.
• Outdoor faucets that were left connected to a hose or never shut off inside.
• Crawl spaces and unheated garages, particularly lines feeding a laundry room or mudroom.
• Well lines where the water line enters the basement, and pump houses without heat.

The common thread is moving cold air. A pipe in still, cold air is far safer than one sitting in a draft from a gap in the foundation or a basement window left cracked.

Work through these steps before the first hard freeze, usually by mid October in our area:

1. 1Disconnect garden hoses and store them. A hose left attached traps water in the spigot, even a frost free one.
2. 2Shut off and drain outdoor faucets from the inside valve, then open the outside faucet so it can drain completely.
3. 3Insulate exposed pipes in crawl spaces, basements and garages with foam pipe sleeves. Pay extra attention to the first few feet where lines come through an outside wall.
4. 4Seal air leaks around sill plates, rim joists, dryer vents and pipe penetrations with foam or caulk.
5. 5Close foundation vents and basement windows for the winter.
6. 6Find your main water shutoff and make sure it turns. Tag it so everyone in the house knows where it is.
7. 7Service your heating system so it does not quit on the coldest night. Our fall boiler maintenance checklist covers what to check.

When the forecast calls for a run of nights near or below zero, a few extra habits make a big difference:

• Open cabinet doors under sinks on exterior walls so warm room air can reach the pipes.
• Let a thin, steady trickle of water run from faucets on vulnerable lines. Moving water is much slower to freeze.
• Keep the thermostat at the same setting day and night instead of setting it back.
• Keep garage doors closed if there are water lines in the garage.
• Check the basement and crawl space for drafts you may have missed.

The American Red Cross also recommends keeping the heat no lower than 55 degrees if you will be away from home.

Seasonal properties are the highest risk of all because a problem can go unnoticed for weeks. A camp or cottage that will sit empty all winter should be fully winterized. That means shutting off the water, draining the lines, the water heater and the pressure tank, blowing out lines with air where needed, and adding plumbing antifreeze to traps and toilets.

If the home will stay heated but unoccupied, consider a low temperature alarm that texts you if the inside temperature drops. Our summerize and winterize service handles full shutdowns in the fall and safe start ups in the spring.

If you turn on a faucet and get only a trickle or nothing at all during a cold stretch, assume a pipe is frozen. Act quickly and carefully:

1. 1Shut off the main water valve right away. If the pipe has already split, this stops the flood the moment it thaws.
2. 2Open the faucet the frozen line feeds so melting water has somewhere to go.
3. 3Warm the pipe slowly with a hair dryer, a space heater kept at a safe distance, or warm towels. Start closest to the faucet and work back.
4. 4Never use a torch or any open flame. It can start a fire inside the wall and can overheat the pipe.
5. 5Once water flows, check along the line for drips or wet spots before turning the main back on fully.

If you cannot reach the frozen section, if you see a split, or if water is already coming through a ceiling, call a plumber. EZ-CO Plumbing offers 24/7 emergency service and can be reached any time at (607) 373-6421. Our emergency plumbing tips article covers other first steps that limit damage.

If the same pipe freezes winter after winter, it is time for a permanent fix rather than another thaw. Options include rerouting the line to an interior wall, adding insulation and air sealing to the wall cavity, replacing old outdoor faucets with frost free models, or switching vulnerable runs to PEX, which tolerates freezing better than copper.

These changes often fit well with other projects. If you are planning a kitchen or bathroom update, our renovation plumbing work can move problem lines while the walls are open. Call us this fall and we will walk your home and point out the spots most likely to give you trouble.