Keeping Your Pipes From Freezing – A Full Guide for 2025

Temperatures below freezing are common in the winter, which is something you expect when you live in Colorado. You take steps every fall to get ready for winter, and this usually includes servicing your HVAC system to ensure you stay warm indoors. 

But what about your plumbing? Yes, it’s a good idea to call a plumber to schedule a service call once a year. The plumber does a routine inspection to ensure there aren’t any leaks, blockages, or signs of other potential issues. 

However, this does little to prevent your pipes from freezing when temperatures fall. Frozen water pipes are more than an annoyance—they can cause extensive damage to your home.

How to Keep Your Pipes from Freezing

Keeping your pipes from freezing typically only takes a few steps. You can even create a checklist to ensure you don’t miss anything. So, what does your checklist look like?

Adjust the Thermostat Setting

Check the settings on your thermostat. Ideally, you want to keep the indoor temperature above 55 degrees. 

Since the outdoor temperature is cold enough to freeze your water pipes, chances are your thermostat is set well above 55 degrees so this shouldn’t be a problem. If you’re out of town and have the thermostat turned way down, see if a neighbor or family member can bump the thermostat up.

If you have a smart thermostat, you should be able to adjust the settings from a connected external device like your phone or tablet.

Let a Faucet Drip

Okay, do you know where your main water valve is located? If not, you’re not alone. A surprising number of property owners aren’t sure where to find their main water valve. 

A good place to start looking is in the basement or garage. Some main valves are located in a concrete box close to the street. 

Now, go to the faucet farthest away from the main valve. This is the one you want to allow to drip. Allowing the faucet to drip keeps water moving through the pipes, making it harder for everything to freeze.

Open Cupboards and Insulate Pipes

Opening all of your cupboards underneath faucets will let warm air in. Even though it’s not a lot of warm air, it’s better than nothing. You also want to grab some old towels and heavy blankets, along with a roll of duct tape. If you have some pieces of foam, grab those too.

You’re going to take these materials are carefully wrap any exposed pipes connecting to the property’s main water source. Don’t worry about how your wrapping job looks. You’re not creating a present. You’re only trying to keep your pipes from freezing.

Drain Outside Spigots and Turn Off the Water at the Source

Do you have garden hoses and sprinklers connected to a water source outside? If so, now’s the time to drain everything. Yes, this is going to take a little time but it’s worth the effort to avoid dealing with frozen pipes.

After draining the outside spigots, turn the water off at the source. A quick tip is to start this task as soon as you hear freezing temperatures are in the forecast. You should also leave the spigot valves open for a bit to get all of the water out. Then close the valves and turn the water off.

Dealing with Frozen Pipes

Sometimes, your pipes still freeze even taking all necessary precautions. When this happens, don’t panic. Instead, you want to turn the water off at the main valve. Hopefully, you remember where the main valve is located. You should have found it when you turned on the farthest faucet.

After turning off the main valve, go ahead and open up a faucet—this way, water can start flowing freely when your pipes finally thaw. 

Now, grab a hair dryer; you want to try and thaw the frozen pipe but you also don’t want it to burst, and this means putting down a blow torch or any other device with an open flame. You want to gradually thaw the pipe. If the water inside the pipe starts boiling, it can cause it to burst.

When water starts running out of the open faucet, your pipes are beginning to thaw. Now is when you learn if the freeze caused any leaks or cracks to form in your pipes. 

If you notice water pooling in an area, turn the water off and call a licensed plumber. You should also call a plumber if you have more than one frozen pipe in your home.