In this video, Ask This Old House plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey offers a few tips to keep water from freezing up in your pipes during the winter months. Keep pipes from bursting with these 6 steps.
How to Prevent Pipes from Bursting
- To keep water from freezing on an outdoor spigot during the winter, shut off the water valve to the outdoor spigot.
- Drain excess water from the pipe.
- To prevent indoor pipes from freezing, cover exposed pipes with foam insulation. It comes in long strips and can be cut down to size with a utility knife.
- Use cable ties to tie downpipe heating cable for any pipes that may need extra heat to stay fluid.
- If pipes under a sink are on an outdoor-facing wall, open up the cabinet doors to let the heat from the house flow underneath the sink.
- On extremely cold days, leave at least one sink on a slow drip to keep water moving in the pipes.
