Minnesota’s freezing winter weather comes with a risk that the pipes in your home could freeze. If your main water line freezes, it expands and can put enough pressure on the pipe that it bursts. Burst pipes will commonly flood the surrounding area. This is less of a risk with plastic PEX piping, but it’s a serious concern with copper pipes since they are rigid and can’t expand. It is generally quite easy to prevent your pipes from freezing by taking these basic steps.
Turn Off and Drain Outdoor Plumbing
Before the first freeze arrives, shut off and drain your hose bibs and any other outdoor plumbing fixtures. Outdoor plumbing has a big risk of freezing. If you go into your basement or crawl space near where each hose bib is located, you’ll see a shut-off valve on the water line that leads outside. All you need to do is close each of these valves and then go outside and open each bib until all of the water drains out of it. You then want to make sure to fully close each bib to prevent cold air from traveling up through it to where it meets the water line inside.
Install Frost-Proof Hose Bibs
An extra precaution that will further protect the pipes that supply your outdoor plumbing is to replace standard hose bibs with frost-proof bibs. The primary difference between the two is that a frost-proof bib has a much longer stem, which is the part that sticks through the exterior wall and connects to the water line inside.
When you shut off and drain your hose bibs, all that you’re doing is draining all of the water out of the stem. The issue with the shorter stem on a standard hose bib is that it means that the stem connects to the water line just inside the wall where the air can still get cold enough for the water line to freeze. The longer stem on a frost-proof bib means that the water line is located further away from the wall where the air stays warmer.
You can usually tell the difference between the two types of hose bibs fairly easily just by how they look. A frost-proof bib usually has an anti-siphon valve on top that just looks like a round plastic cap. The other difference is the location of the wheel or handle you use to turn the water on and off. The handle on a frost-proof bib is usually at the very end and sits perpendicular to the bib, whereas standard bibs typically have the handle on top.
Make Sure Your Pipes Are Properly Insulated
Generally speaking, the only water lines that you need to insulate are those with the highest chance of freezing. This includes any pipes in your attic or crawl space along with those in the basement that are exposed and next to the foundation walls. If you have any sinks located along an exterior wall, it’s also a good idea to insulate the short pieces of copper pipe that stick through the wall. These can also be prone to freezing.
Foam pipe insulation tends to deteriorate over time. If your pipes are already insulated, it’s a good idea to quickly check the condition of the insulation before winter arrives. If the insulation is starting to fall apart or there are any gaps where part of the pipe is exposed, you should reinsulate the pipe or else it could still end up freezing. Many hardware stores sell foam pipe insulation that looks very similar to pool noodles. This is very easy to install. Slip it over the pipe and secure it with tape or a hose clamp.
Keep Your Thermostat Set to No Lower Than 55 to 60 Degrees
If you plan on being away for a few days, you generally want to turn your thermostat down a bit so you don’t waste energy by keeping your house unnecessarily warm. Nonetheless, you should make sure to keep your thermostat set to at least 55 or even 60 degrees or you could end up with pipes freezing. Even if the main part of your house stayed at around 50 degrees, certain areas can still end up being cold enough that it puts your pipes at risk of freezing. This includes the cabinet space underneath your sinks and spaces near your foundation walls.
Leave the Water Running
During an extreme cold snap, you should take extra precautions to reduce the risk of your pipes freezing. One of the best things you can do is to leave a trickle of water running so that there is water moving through your pipes instead of just sitting there. The reason this helps is just that it’s much more difficult for running water to freeze compared to standing water. This step isn’t always necessary for all of your plumbing fixtures, but it’s something to do for any fixtures located on an exterior wall or in a colder part of your house.
Open Your Cabinet Doors
Another thing that can help during extremely cold weather is just to open the doors to the cabinets underneath your sinks. If the doors are closed, they’ll block off the heat and potentially result in the area underneath the cabinet getting cold enough for the pipes that supply the sink to freeze. When the doors are open, you’ll end up with more hot air circulating around the pipes so that they stay warm enough that they shouldn’t freeze. If you have a sink that is prone to freezing, you may even want to place a fan in front of it so that it continually blows warmer air inside the cabinet.
Winterize Your Plumbing Before Leaving on Vacation
One other thing you may want to consider if you’ll be gone on vacation over the winter and don’t have anyone watching your house is to fully winterize your plumbing system. Winterizing a plumbing system involves shutting the water to the house off and then draining and blowing out all of the water lines. Make sure to fully drain all of your toilets as well as your water heater. In some cases, they may also put a bit of anti-freeze into your drains to ensure that the water inside the P-trap underneath the drain doesn’t freeze and cause the drain pipe to crack. This is something that you can do yourself. You may also call a plumber to help you if you need.
Liberty Comfort Systems is a local, family-owned company with years of experience providing trustworthy plumbing, electrical, heating and air conditioning services in Anoka, MN, and the surrounding areas. We specialize in plumbing installation and can help if you need to install frost-proof hose bibs, insulate your pipes or anything else. If you’re concerned about the risk of your pipes freezing or need pipe repair, contact us for an evaluation and we’ll do whatever is necessary to keep your pipes safe this winter.
