When temperatures plummet, your plumbing pipes can freeze and even burst. This can cause extensive damage, so it’s important to take steps to prevent this from happening. One such method is dripping your faucets. This keeps the water in your pipes moving, which helps prevent freezing.
While an effective method, many homeowners wonder how cold it needs to be before they drip their faucets. The standard suggestion is to start dripping your faucets at 20°F. In this blog, our plumbers at Legacy Plumbing will further explain this suggestion and cover why dripping your faucets is important, additional ways to prevent frozen pipes, and what to do if your pipes freeze.
Why Dripping Faucets in Cold Weather Matters
When temperatures fall below freezing for an extended period of time, the water in your home’s plumbing pipes can freeze. When water freezes, it expands, which can cause your pipes to burst. This can lead to excessive water damage, broken pipes, and damage to your home. Having to repair the damage caused and replace your pipes is a costly and stressful experience.
To help prevent this, you can keep your faucets dripping. This allows water to stay moving in your pipes, which relieves pressure and lessens the chance of it freezing. This simple step can save you significantly in the long run.
The Best Temperature to Drip Your Faucets
Below-freezing temperatures put your pipes at risk of freezing. When temperatures fall below freezing, you’ll still have some protection thanks to your home heating system. If temperatures fall to 20°F or lower and will stay there for an extended period of time, drip all the faucets in your home, especially those that are connected to pipes that run in exterior walls, as they are less insulated from the cold. Make sure to drip both hot and cold water faucets.
Additional Ways To Prevent Frozen Pipes
Dripping your faucets isn’t the only protection you have against frozen pipes. Try these additional tips to protect your pipes:
- Open cabinet doors under sinks and around other pipes to allow warm air to circulate.
- Keep your home’s heating system running at no lower than 55°F.
- Seal any drafts in your home around windows, doors, and where pipes enter your home.
- Add insulation to exposed pipes using foam pipe insulation or wrap pipes in heat tape.
- Drain and shut off any outdoor water sources, like garden hoses or outdoor faucets.
- Use space heaters for any areas of concern. Make sure to keep the space heater a safe distance away from the pipes and never use open flames near pipes.
What To Do If Your Pipes Freeze
It’s important to act as soon as your pipes freeze so that you can prevent them from bursting. Keep an eye out for the following indicators that your pipes have frozen:
- No water or slow water flow
- Visible frost on pipes
- Gurgling or whistling sounds when turning on a faucet
- Cold spots on walls or floors
- Strange smells coming from drains or faucets
If you’ve identified a frozen pipe, make sure to keep the faucets fully open, as this will allow water to escape as you thaw them. Then, gently apply heat to the frozen pipe. Make sure to not use flame or expose the pipes to heat too quickly. Instead, try wrapping the pipes with towels soaked in hot water and run a space heater nearby.
If you are unable to locate the frozen pipe or unable to thaw it, reach out to a professional plumber for frozen pipe repairs as soon as possible.
Professional Pipe Repairs With Legacy Plumbing
If this advice is coming too late and your pipes have already burst, our team is here to help. Legacy Plumbing provides a comprehensive range of services for your water lines, including repair and replacement. We’ll get your burst pipe fixed so that your plumbing system starts working smoothly again.
Contact Legacy Plumbing today for expert plumbing services in the North Dallas area.
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