How to keep your pipes from freezing in a New England cold snap

Every January the calls come in waves. The temperature drops into the single digits overnight, and by morning a pipe in the crawl space or the garage wall has split. The repair is rarely the expensive part. The water damage is.

The pipes most at risk are the ones farthest from your heat: exterior walls, unheated basements, crawl spaces and garages. Cold air pools in those spots, and a thin copper or PEX line will freeze long before the rest of the house feels it.

Three things help more than anything else. First, let a faucet on an exterior wall drip during the coldest nights. Moving water is much harder to freeze. Second, open the cabinet doors under sinks on outside walls so room heat reaches the pipes. Third, never drop the thermostat below 55°F when you leave town in winter.

If a pipe does freeze, shut the main water valve first, then open the nearest faucet so the line has somewhere to drain as it thaws. Do not use an open flame to thaw a pipe. Call us before it bursts if you can. We would rather thaw a line than mop a basement.