Skip to main content
Knowledge Base

How can I prepare my plumbing for cold seasons?

These steps should be taken before cold seasons to prevent water damage and frozen pipes. 

To prevent water damage and frozen pipes during cold seasons:

  1. Prepare your outdoor faucets – remove and drain water hoses and store them indoors.
  2. Shut off the external water supply, and open the outdoor faucets to allow residual water to drain.
  3. Insulate outdoor faucets with foam faucet covers.
  4. Insulate pipes to prevent freezing, especially in unheated areas of your home.
  5. Maintain a temperature inside of at least 65⁰F (18.3⁰C).
  6. Test your heating system so you know it will work properly through the winter.
  7. Hire an HVAC technician to check your furnace’s efficiency.
  8. Close vents in your home that may have been opened for warm weather.
  9. Furnaces, boilers, and chimneys should be serviced and cleaned if it has been more than 12 months since the last service.
  10. Test your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors – residential fires are more common in winter and carbon monoxide can be a byproduct of heating if you have a gas furnace.
  11. Fix any existing leaks now – inspect pipes and have leaks repaired.
  12. Know where your water main is in case you need to shut it off.
  13. If there are any stretches of extremely cold weather, keep a small stream of water running in a few faucets to guard against freezing/bursting pipes. Moving water is harder to freeze!

Interested in Alarm.com?

Alarm.com technology is sold, installed, and serviced by licensed service providers near you.

 

Let's Get Started

  • Was this article helpful?