How to Winterize Your Home

To winterize your home's plumbing, protect anything that can freeze: disconnect garden hoses and cover outdoor faucets, insulate exposed pipes in the attic, garage, and exterior walls, open sink cabinets and let faucets drip on the coldest nights, and know where your main water shutoff is. If the house will sit empty over the winter, like a lake house or weekend place, shut the water off at the main and drain the lines.

Central Texas winters are mild most of the time, but hard freezes do happen, and many homes here have pipes running through attics and exterior walls that aren't built for the cold. A little preparation goes a long way.

Why is winterizing your plumbing important?

When water freezes inside a pipe, it expands and builds up pressure that can split the pipe. Often the leak doesn't show until the pipe thaws, and then it can flood a wall, ceiling, or floor. Taking a few preventive steps now is far cheaper than repairing water damage later.

How do you keep pipes from freezing?

1. Disconnect garden hoses from outdoor faucets and drain them. A hose left attached traps water in the faucet, where it can freeze and split the pipe inside the wall.
2. Cover outdoor faucets with insulated faucet covers.
3. Insulate exposed pipes in the attic, garage, crawl space, and along exterior walls with pre-slit foam pipe insulation.
4. Open the cabinet doors under kitchen and bathroom sinks, especially on exterior walls, so warm air can circulate around the pipes.
5. Let faucets drip on the coldest nights. Moving water is less likely to freeze, and an open faucet relieves pressure if ice does form.
6. Keep the heat on. If you'll be away for a few days, leave the thermostat set no lower than 55°F.
7. Ask a friend or neighbor to check on the house if you'll be gone during a freeze, and to call a plumber if anything looks wrong.

How do you winterize outdoor faucets and hoses?

Disconnect every hose, drain it, and store it in the garage or a shed. If your outdoor faucets have their own shutoff valve inside the house, close it, then open the outdoor faucet to let the line drain and release any pressure. Add an insulated cover over each faucet.

If you have a lawn sprinkler system, don't forget the backflow preventer. It sits above ground, exposed to the cold, so insulate it or drain it before a hard freeze.

What if the house will sit empty during a freeze?

For a lake house, weekend place, or any home that will be empty in freezing weather:

1. Shut off the main water valve. It's usually where the water line enters the house, or at the meter box near the street.
2. Drain the lines by opening the faucets throughout the house and letting them run until the water stops flowing.
3. Take care of the water heater. Set it to its vacation setting or turn it off, following the manufacturer's instructions. Never leave an electric water heater powered on if the tank has been drained.
4. Consider an automatic water shutoff valve that alerts your phone if it detects a leak.

Should you seal gaps around doors and windows?

Yes, especially near pipes. If you feel a draft coming through, cold air is getting in, and cold air pouring into a wall or cabinet that holds pipes can lead to frozen pipes when temperatures drop below freezing.

Use caulk or expanding foam to fill gaps and cracks around door and window frames, and add weather stripping where doors and windows don't seal tightly. You can find pre-cut weather stripping at most hardware stores.

How do you protect hot water pipes?

Hot water pipes can freeze too, because the water in them cools off between uses. The main way to protect them is with foam pipe insulation or insulating wrap. For pipes in especially cold spots, electric heat cable (heat tape) can help; use a UL-listed product and follow the manufacturer's installation instructions exactly.

How do you prepare your water heater for winter?

Check the water heater for rust, leaks, or water around the base, and have a professional look at anything that seems off. Insulate the pipes going into and out of the heater. And if the tank hasn't been flushed in a while, a flush clears out the sediment that builds up over time, especially with our hard water. A yearly tank water heater flush is included in our membership.

What should you do if a pipe freezes or bursts?

If a faucet only trickles during a freeze, a pipe may be frozen. Keep the faucet open and warm the pipe gently with a hair dryer, or a space heater kept at a safe distance. Never use an open flame. If a pipe bursts, shut off your main water valve right away and call our 24/7 emergency plumbing team.