How to Winterize Your Water Lines

Broken water lines result in enormous losses for property owners and tenants from water damage every year throughout cold climate regions. Preparing plumbing lines for cold weather can help prevent water leaks that occur when exposed to freezing temperatures (at or below 32 degrees Fahrenheit) causes water in lines to freeze, expand, increase pressure, and break the pipes. Winterizing your home's water lines is essential to protect your home, your personal possessions, and the health and safety of everyone who lives in your house. Below is a set of step-by-step instructions for winterizing water lines in the house.

What To Do Before You Winterize Water Pipes

It's not hard to learn how to winterize water lines in a house. To get started, first make a list of all plumbing lines and other parts inside and outside your home. Including all water faucets, valves, and other fixtures on the interior and exterior of the house. Then, perform each of the steps explained below, to winterize your home's water lines. Check each step off your list as you complete it, to ensure that you don't forget any of these critical tasks and end up needing professional pipe leak cleanup.

  • Locate all pipes that are susceptible to freezing, including those along exterior as well as interior walls. Pipes that are uninsulated and those installed in or near interior spaces that are not heated during winter are at risk of freezing.
  • Inspect for cracks or air leaks along ceilings, walls, windows, doors, and floors. Also look for exterior openings left around plumbing, electrical, phone, cable and other utility lines leading into the structure.
  • Caulk or apply spray foam sealant in all holes and crevices, to help prevent cold air from entering the house through those openings and causing frozen water lines.

Now You're Ready to Winterize Water Lines

Follow these instructions to begin winterizing residential water lines. Check each task off your list after you complete it.

  1. Turn off electricity to the water heater. This will prevent heating elements from continuing to heat while the water heating tank is empty.
  2. Turn off the water pump.
  3. Turn off the water coming into the home at the main valve.
  4. Open all faucets and drain valves. A faucet or valve left closed could cause water to be held inside pipes.
  • Use an air compressor to blow any residual water out of lines.
  • Open the valve on your hot water tank, and empty the tank completely. Connect a garden hose to drain it if your hot water tank does not have a bottom drain (floor drain). If all water cannot be removed, add a bit of antifreeze (of the type approved for such use in-home water systems).
  • Drain the water holding tank, including the small tank component that contains the rubber diaphragm (designed to provide pressure).
  • Flush all toilets, to eliminate as much water as possible, from toilet tanks and bowls. If all water cannot be removed, add a bit of antifreeze (of the type approved for such use in-home water systems), to help prevent freezing water from breaking the porcelain toilet.
  • Locate drains in sinks, bathtubs, showers, and others that have drain traps, and add a little antifreeze to these, to help prevent freezing water from breaking the drain traps.

What to Do After the Pipes are All Empty

With all pipes empty, you're ready to take the final steps. From this point, you can winterize water lines quickly, with just a few more tasks.

  • Wrap PVC, steel, or copper water pipes with foam pipe insulation sleeves. Ensure that there are no parts of the pipes left exposed without insulative covering.
  • Heat tape can be used for winterizing residential plumbing. However, heat tape can present its own risks. To help minimize risk of fire, be sure to follow U.S. CPSC safety recommendations for use of heat tape in a home.
  • Hose bibs (outdoor faucets) are often overlooked, leaving them to burst. Be sure to drain all hose bibs, and add covers to insulate them. Then, shut off water to outside faucets at the shut-off valve.
  • Ensure that the crawl space under the house is well insulated. Close off all vent openings leading to the building exterior, with plywood or cardboard pieces.>
  • If possible, keep the building heated throughout all periods of freezing temperatures, in order to prevent flooding in your home due to a frozen water line.
  • If possible, leave a faucet valve open and dripping, to allow water to continue flowing freely, which can help prevent it from freezing.

Professional Winterization of Your Homes Plumbing System

Of course, there's a lot at stake when you embark on your do-it-yourself plumbing winterization project, including your home's structure and construction finishes, your personal property, and the safety, health, and comfort of human and pet animal occupants during the coldest months of the year. Those are the months during which protecting your home and its occupants can become the most complicated and serious, in the event of a major water line breach.

Therefore, if you undertake DIY plumbing winterization in and around your home, it's recommended to have a professional plumbing inspection by a licensed plumber, to help ensure that all line protections you put in place can be expected to be effective when you most need to depend on them.

Four Reasons to Let the Professionals Winterize Your Home Plumbing System

In most cases, it's advisable to have your home plumbing winterization performed by a professional, to eliminate the risk of overlooking or under-treating your water line system at any vulnerable point in or around your home. A scheduled service call in October or November can save you from serious home damage in January. There are four important reasons to call a pro to winterize your plumbing.

  • Your Main Water Source Must Be Protected
  • Your Appliances Need Special Care
  • You Need to Know Your Vulnerable Supply and Waste Points
  • Your Exterior Plumbing Issues Must Be Addressed

Need to Winterize Your Water Lines in Utah? Call Utah Flood Cleanup

We are disaster cleanup specialists, helping people restore their homes after fire, flood, or mold damage occurs. We adhere to IICRC S-500 and S-520 guidelines. We don't take shortcuts. Our team holds industry certifications and licenses including CDS, ASD, IICRC WTR, RRP Certification.

We offer our customers free inspection of insured water damage, 24/7 emergency service, 2 Year Guarantee on Workmanship, and affordable financing.

We serve Utah customers locations throughout Utah. For more information about winterizing your home's plumbing system, call Utah Flood Cleanup anytime at (801) 823-6637. We're here to help you.

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I was corrected and they are still in business. Talked to Daryl and he’s a great guy. Would definitely send work his way if I ever need it.
Robert Mixon
Robert Mixon
22:36 07 Mar 23
We had a leak in our roof while we were out of town. Daryl was so helpful and responded quickly so we were able to get our wood floor dried out to avoid damage to the floor. He was very professional and knew exactly what needed to be done.
Gary Hatch
Gary Hatch
22:52 07 Jun 22
I contact Daryl about wanting to have a mold inspection done in my crawl space. He was incredibly nice and immediately booked at time with me. When he arrived at the house, he carefully did his work, showed me the results of the tests. Thankfully there was no mold. But, even better, he took the time to show me and explain a few areas of concern for the future. Really incredible service. I wish everyone was so professional. I couldn't recommend someone more highly. 5 star!
rhayesparton
rhayesparton
23:22 13 May 22
Daryl with Utah Flood Clean Up, came to inspect a previous roof leak that had left some moisture in our walls. He was very honest about his findings and detailed with the information for removing it! I am a General Contractor and I won’t use anyone else!
Garry Naccarato
Garry Naccarato
14:11 23 Apr 22
My experience with this company is that they are honest and great to work with. Very refreshing to have someone you can trust.
Trevor Heaton
Trevor Heaton
19:44 06 May 20
Called for some detailed information about mold/removal. Daryl was busy, but called back just a few minutes later and spent time answering ALL my questions. He was very knowledgable and patient. Thank you Daryl.
Diane G
Diane G
18:00 17 Apr 20
Sadly, I've had to use Utah Flood Cleanup 4 times in the last year! I really appreciate how quickly they responded to each casualty. They were there right away! Daryl, the owner, gave me a price that was half of the other quote I got, and his men are professionals... not kids who don't have a clue. Plus, he included more "fixes" in his quote for less money. He is very knowledgeable and I felt very confident in his recommendations. He also worked directly with our insurance adjuster so that I didn't have to! I highly recommend this company.
Ashton Carrington
Ashton Carrington
16:09 16 Apr 20
I called Utah Flood Cleanup when I had a leak in the kitchen that drained down into the basement. Daryl came out shortly after speaking to me on the phone! He was friendly, professional and very knowledgeable. He quickly and thoroughly assessed the situation, explaining everything he did as he went along. I was very impressed with how thorough he was in his examination of the damage. He let me know up front what I was looking at and I felt he was very honest and reasonable. I've had other companies out who seem to know very little and just want to start ripping everything out at once! Daryl explained and showed me why he recommended what he did and I felt very comfortable and confident in his recommendations. I highly recommend this company!! You won't be sorry.
Jo Carrington
Jo Carrington
03:09 08 Jun 19
Call these guys for the best knowledge and serve for water damage or mold.
Daryl Olsen
Daryl Olsen
18:58 26 Jan 19
We wanted our house checked for mold due to a moderately high mold count in the air sample. They were very thorough and found only one small spot in the bathroom that needed attention. They advised on our options for dealing with it and did not propose expensive and unnecessary repairs.
Heather Steed
Heather Steed
02:09 16 Aug 18
We absolutely love Utah Flood Cleanup, they come in and take all the problems over. The headache of insurance companies, they pack your items up, the clean up and restoration, and they even move all the items back in. All of there staff are professional and very knowledgeable, they layout a reasonable budget and fight against the insurance to get your house to the best finished state. All of there sub contractors are fast and experts in their fields, this company only uses professional tradesman. We really appreciate all that the Utah Flood Cleanup guys have done for us.
Kit Cc
Kit Cc
03:27 15 Aug 16
Josh and Sam came to inspect the mold we found. They were on time, considerate and knowledgeable about our situation. They presented our options and recommendations to treat the issue. I will recommend Utah Disaster to my friends and family.
Connie Pinnell
Connie Pinnell
18:16 08 Jun 16
Jaxon came and assessed water damage in our basement. They were very helpful and went out of their way to make the experience as painless as possible. Very responsive when questions came up and they were never pushy, which I appreciate.
Aimee Hollingsworth
Aimee Hollingsworth
19:48 01 Jun 16
Jaxon was great, he answered his phone at 6:30 am and was out in an hour and got my basement cleaned up
neil norton
neil norton
14:55 31 May 16
Within the last year we had a major flood in the basement, and just today had another water issue that flooded a smaller portion of the basement. I called The Flood Company immediately and they were on-site within an hour or so. I'm extremely pleased with The Flood Co. The professionalism and expertise demonstrate by Jackson and Sam put my mind at ease, knowing we would be taken care of well. I would recommend The Flood Company to anyone in need of these services. They get a five star rating from us!
William Hansen
William Hansen
03:03 26 May 16
My main water line broke and our crawl space was flooding. I called my insurance company and they recommended these guys. Sam and Jesus showed up and got things taken care of. They stopped the water line and put fans to dry the area. The insurance process was super smooth I'm glad I called them!
Karla Maquin
Karla Maquin
04:11 06 May 16
Utah Flood Cleanup is amazing! Josh and Jesus stopped by after their shift and were kind enough to give us a free inspection of our flood problem. Our little 4 year old thought he'd make a sauna in the bathroom. He flipped the shower on and walked away. We never heard the water running and came upstairs to put my daughter to bed. Sure enough, the shower was pointed into the bathroom and flooded the whole thing. Josh and Jesus came out got the whole place inspected, pulled out themal meters and moisture meters and confirmed there was water damage (and old mold growth from previous spills). They grabbed their tools and began demolishing the floor themselves, right then and there so we could get fans on it to prevent future mold growth. I hope I never have another flood but if I do, I'm definitely calling them again! They're the best!!~~~
Jessica Means
Jessica Means
01:49 22 Apr 16
These guys are great to work with and really go above and beyond to serve their customers.
Zack Adams
Zack Adams
17:36 16 Dec 15
I called in the morning and they came that afternoon. Chris and Jesus came. They were professional, polite, knowledgeable and they quickly got the place all cleaned up and prepped for the repair. Then they recommended some handymen to do the repair. I hired Hank and he was great too. Did the whole job in one day.
Alan Green
Alan Green
20:37 16 Oct 15
You showed up to our house based upon little information. When you got here you went right to work looking to see what was going on. With being a family of 7, it can be a scramble being out of a bathroom and no shower. You were excellent and so kind on letting us know what our options are and what you can do to resolve the problem in our basement bathroom. With being in our new home, not even making a second mortgage payment yet, it is hard to discover there is mold and a water leak through out the basement bathroom and laundry room. I really appreciate the time you took out of your day to come to our house. My brother in law referred us to you, and it was the best referral, so thank you very much.
Ashley Metz
Ashley Metz
22:39 30 Sep 15

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What Our Clients are Saying

Customer Testimonials

I was corrected and they are still in business. Talked to Daryl and he’s a great guy. Would definitely send work his way if I ever need it.
Robert Mixon
Robert Mixon
22:36 07 Mar 23
We had a leak in our roof while we were out of town. Daryl was so helpful and responded quickly so we were able to get our wood floor dried out to avoid damage to the floor. He was very professional and knew exactly what needed to be done.
Gary Hatch
Gary Hatch
22:52 07 Jun 22
I contact Daryl about wanting to have a mold inspection done in my crawl space. He was incredibly nice and immediately booked at time with me. When he arrived at the house, he carefully did his work, showed me the results of the tests. Thankfully there was no mold. But, even better, he took the time to show me and explain a few areas of concern for the future. Really incredible service. I wish everyone was so professional. I couldn't recommend someone more highly. 5 star!
rhayesparton
rhayesparton
23:22 13 May 22
Daryl with Utah Flood Clean Up, came to inspect a previous roof leak that had left some moisture in our walls. He was very honest about his findings and detailed with the information for removing it! I am a General Contractor and I won’t use anyone else!
Garry Naccarato
Garry Naccarato
14:11 23 Apr 22
My experience with this company is that they are honest and great to work with. Very refreshing to have someone you can trust.
Trevor Heaton
Trevor Heaton
19:44 06 May 20
Called for some detailed information about mold/removal. Daryl was busy, but called back just a few minutes later and spent time answering ALL my questions. He was very knowledgable and patient. Thank you Daryl.
Diane G
Diane G
18:00 17 Apr 20
Sadly, I've had to use Utah Flood Cleanup 4 times in the last year! I really appreciate how quickly they responded to each casualty. They were there right away! Daryl, the owner, gave me a price that was half of the other quote I got, and his men are professionals... not kids who don't have a clue. Plus, he included more "fixes" in his quote for less money. He is very knowledgeable and I felt very confident in his recommendations. He also worked directly with our insurance adjuster so that I didn't have to! I highly recommend this company.
Ashton Carrington
Ashton Carrington
16:09 16 Apr 20
I called Utah Flood Cleanup when I had a leak in the kitchen that drained down into the basement. Daryl came out shortly after speaking to me on the phone! He was friendly, professional and very knowledgeable. He quickly and thoroughly assessed the situation, explaining everything he did as he went along. I was very impressed with how thorough he was in his examination of the damage. He let me know up front what I was looking at and I felt he was very honest and reasonable. I've had other companies out who seem to know very little and just want to start ripping everything out at once! Daryl explained and showed me why he recommended what he did and I felt very comfortable and confident in his recommendations. I highly recommend this company!! You won't be sorry.
Jo Carrington
Jo Carrington
03:09 08 Jun 19
Call these guys for the best knowledge and serve for water damage or mold.
Daryl Olsen
Daryl Olsen
18:58 26 Jan 19
We wanted our house checked for mold due to a moderately high mold count in the air sample. They were very thorough and found only one small spot in the bathroom that needed attention. They advised on our options for dealing with it and did not propose expensive and unnecessary repairs.
Heather Steed
Heather Steed
02:09 16 Aug 18
We absolutely love Utah Flood Cleanup, they come in and take all the problems over. The headache of insurance companies, they pack your items up, the clean up and restoration, and they even move all the items back in. All of there staff are professional and very knowledgeable, they layout a reasonable budget and fight against the insurance to get your house to the best finished state. All of there sub contractors are fast and experts in their fields, this company only uses professional tradesman. We really appreciate all that the Utah Flood Cleanup guys have done for us.
Kit Cc
Kit Cc
03:27 15 Aug 16
Josh and Sam came to inspect the mold we found. They were on time, considerate and knowledgeable about our situation. They presented our options and recommendations to treat the issue. I will recommend Utah Disaster to my friends and family.
Connie Pinnell
Connie Pinnell
18:16 08 Jun 16
Jaxon came and assessed water damage in our basement. They were very helpful and went out of their way to make the experience as painless as possible. Very responsive when questions came up and they were never pushy, which I appreciate.
Aimee Hollingsworth
Aimee Hollingsworth
19:48 01 Jun 16
Jaxon was great, he answered his phone at 6:30 am and was out in an hour and got my basement cleaned up
neil norton
neil norton
14:55 31 May 16
Within the last year we had a major flood in the basement, and just today had another water issue that flooded a smaller portion of the basement. I called The Flood Company immediately and they were on-site within an hour or so. I'm extremely pleased with The Flood Co. The professionalism and expertise demonstrate by Jackson and Sam put my mind at ease, knowing we would be taken care of well. I would recommend The Flood Company to anyone in need of these services. They get a five star rating from us!
William Hansen
William Hansen
03:03 26 May 16
My main water line broke and our crawl space was flooding. I called my insurance company and they recommended these guys. Sam and Jesus showed up and got things taken care of. They stopped the water line and put fans to dry the area. The insurance process was super smooth I'm glad I called them!
Karla Maquin
Karla Maquin
04:11 06 May 16
Utah Flood Cleanup is amazing! Josh and Jesus stopped by after their shift and were kind enough to give us a free inspection of our flood problem. Our little 4 year old thought he'd make a sauna in the bathroom. He flipped the shower on and walked away. We never heard the water running and came upstairs to put my daughter to bed. Sure enough, the shower was pointed into the bathroom and flooded the whole thing. Josh and Jesus came out got the whole place inspected, pulled out themal meters and moisture meters and confirmed there was water damage (and old mold growth from previous spills). They grabbed their tools and began demolishing the floor themselves, right then and there so we could get fans on it to prevent future mold growth. I hope I never have another flood but if I do, I'm definitely calling them again! They're the best!!~~~
Jessica Means
Jessica Means
01:49 22 Apr 16
These guys are great to work with and really go above and beyond to serve their customers.
Zack Adams
Zack Adams
17:36 16 Dec 15
I called in the morning and they came that afternoon. Chris and Jesus came. They were professional, polite, knowledgeable and they quickly got the place all cleaned up and prepped for the repair. Then they recommended some handymen to do the repair. I hired Hank and he was great too. Did the whole job in one day.
Alan Green
Alan Green
20:37 16 Oct 15
You showed up to our house based upon little information. When you got here you went right to work looking to see what was going on. With being a family of 7, it can be a scramble being out of a bathroom and no shower. You were excellent and so kind on letting us know what our options are and what you can do to resolve the problem in our basement bathroom. With being in our new home, not even making a second mortgage payment yet, it is hard to discover there is mold and a water leak through out the basement bathroom and laundry room. I really appreciate the time you took out of your day to come to our house. My brother in law referred us to you, and it was the best referral, so thank you very much.
Ashley Metz
Ashley Metz
22:39 30 Sep 15

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