How to Prevent Frozen Pipes Before a Cold Snap

A burst pipe is the single most expensive routine winter claim a homeowner makes, and it is almost always preventable. Water expands as it freezes, pressure builds between the ice and a closed faucet, and the pipe splits. The split usually goes unnoticed until the ice thaws and water starts running into a finished basement.

The good news: pipes freeze in predictable places. Find yours now and the rest is easy.

Where pipes freeze in Bergen County houses

In the split-levels, Capes, and colonials that make up most of Bergen County, the usual suspects are:

1. Outdoor spigots and the pipe feeding them. The number one cause. A hose left attached traps water in the spigot and the pipe behind it.
2. Pipes along exterior walls, especially in kitchens and bathrooms added onto the back of the house or above a garage.
3. The sill plate area of the basement, where the foundation meets the framing. Cold air leaks in here, and supply lines often run right along it.
4. Crawl spaces, garages, and unheated additions. Many 1950s and 60s homes here have a crawl space under a family-room addition with plumbing in it.
5. Pipes near an attic or in a knee-wall on Cape Cod-style houses where a bathroom was added upstairs.

Walk the basement with a flashlight and note every supply line you can see near an outside wall. That’s your map.

Five things to do before the cold arrives

1. Disconnect hoses and drain outdoor spigots. Close the interior shutoff valve for each outdoor spigot (usually a small valve on the pipe feeding it, inside the basement wall), then open the outdoor spigot to drain. If there’s no interior valve, a “frost-free” spigot is designed to drain itself but only if nothing is attached to it.

2. Insulate the pipes you found on your map. Foam pipe sleeves from any hardware store, slit lengthwise, cost a few dollars each. Prioritize pipes on exterior walls and near the sill plate. For a chronically cold spot, UL-listed heat tape with a built-in thermostat is appropriate; follow the manufacturer’s instructions exactly and never overlap it.

3. Seal the cold air leaks near the pipes. Spray foam or caulk at the sill plate, around where pipes and cables pass through exterior walls, and around basement windows. Keeping cold air off the pipe matters more than wrapping the pipe.

4. Know your main shutoff. Find it, make sure it closes, and show everyone in the house. When a pipe bursts, the difference between a wet floor and a gutted basement is how fast someone closes that valve.

5. Open the cabinet doors under exterior-wall sinks on very cold nights so heated room air reaches the pipes.

During a cold snap (below roughly 20°F for more than a night)

• Let a faucet on an exterior wall drip, cold side, a steady trickle. Moving water is much harder to freeze and relieves pressure.
• Keep the thermostat at the same temperature day and night. The energy cost of not setting back for a few nights is small compared to a plumber’s emergency rate.
• If you’re going away, set the heat no lower than 55°F, and consider shutting the main valve and opening faucets to drain the system if you’ll be gone for an extended stretch.

If a pipe freezes anyway

A faucet that produces only a trickle in cold weather usually means a frozen section somewhere behind it.

• Keep the faucet open. As the ice melts, water needs somewhere to go and the flow helps the thaw.
• Apply gentle heat to the frozen section: a hair dryer, a heating pad wrapped around the pipe, or towels soaked in hot water. Start at the faucet end and work toward the frozen area.
• Never use an open flame, a propane torch, or any device with a flame. People burn their houses down every winter doing this.
• Check every other faucet. If one pipe froze, others may have too.
• If you can’t find the frozen section, or the pipe is inside a wall, call a licensed plumber. Thawing a pipe inside a wall without opening it is a job for someone with the right tools.

When a pipe has burst

Close the main shutoff first, then open faucets to relieve pressure, then call a plumber. Photograph the damage before cleanup for your insurance claim, and move anything valuable off the floor. If water has reached electrical outlets or the panel, don’t walk through it; call the utility or an electrician.

---

Reviewed October 2026. This guide is general homeowner information, not a substitute for a licensed plumber’s assessment of your specific house.