How to Winterize Your Home Plumbing: A West Tennessee Plumber's Checklist

To winterize your home plumbing, disconnect and drain all garden hoses, shut off and drain the outdoor hose bibs (sill cocks), insulate any exposed pipe in unheated spaces, seal air leaks near plumbing, and know exactly where your main water shut-off is before the first hard freeze. Do those five things and you have handled the majority of what causes a burst pipe in West Tennessee. Below is the full checklist, in the order I actually work it when a homeowner asks me to freeze-proof their house.

Why Memphis-Area Homes Freeze and Burst

Our winters are deceptive. We get long stretches in the 50s, then an Arctic front drops us into the teens for two or three nights. Homeowners who never think about pipes the rest of the year suddenly have water pouring through a ceiling. The culprit is almost never the pipe in your heated living space. It is the line running through an unheated crawl space, an exterior wall, the garage, or that hose bib on the north side of the house that nobody drained.

Water expands as it freezes. When a slug of ice forms inside a pipe, the pressure builds between the ice and a closed faucet until the weakest fitting or the pipe wall gives out. The pipe often does not leak while frozen. It leaks the afternoon it thaws, which is why people come home to a flooded room a day after the cold snap.

Start Outside: Hose Bibs Are the Number One Burst Point

If you only do one thing this fall, do this. The outdoor faucet, called a hose bib or sill cock, is where I see the most cold-weather failures, and it is the easiest to prevent.

1. Disconnect every garden hose. A connected hose traps water in the spigot, and that trapped water freezes first and splits the valve body.
2. If you have an interior shut-off for that line (often a small valve on the supply pipe just inside the crawl space or basement), close it, then open the outside faucet to let the remaining water drain out. Leave the outside faucet open for the winter.
3. For a standard non-frost-free bib with no shut-off, drain it as best you can and add an insulated faucet cover, the foam dome you screw on. They cost a few dollars at any hardware store.
4. If you have frost-free hose bibs, they drain themselves when pitched correctly, but only if the hose is disconnected. A connected hose defeats the whole design.

Insulate the Pipes That Live in the Cold

Any pipe that runs through a space your furnace does not heat needs a jacket. Walk your crawl space, garage, and the wall cavities under sinks on exterior walls. Foam pipe insulation sleeves slip right over the pipe and tape or zip-tie closed. For copper and CPVC supply lines in a vented crawl space, this is genuinely the difference between a quiet winter and a 2 a.m. emergency.

For the spots that get really cold, or a pipe that has frozen before, self-regulating heat tape (heat cable) is worth installing. Follow the manufacturer's instructions to the letter, never overlap it on itself, and plug it into a GFCI outlet. Heat tape is one of the few places where doing it wrong creates a fire risk, so if you are unsure, have it installed by a pro.

Here is what belongs on the insulation walk-through:

• Supply lines in the crawl space, basement, and attic
• Pipes running along exterior walls, especially under kitchen and bath sinks
• The water line to a garage utility sink, washer, or refrigerator
• Exposed pipe near foundation vents and the rim joist

Seal the Drafts Feeding Cold to Your Pipes

Insulation slows heat loss, but a cold draft blowing directly on a pipe will freeze it anyway. Close your crawl space foundation vents for the winter, or fit them with foam vent covers. Use caulk or expanding foam to seal the gaps where pipes pass through exterior walls and the foundation, the same gaps that let in air and mice. On the coldest nights, open the cabinet doors under sinks on outside walls so household heat reaches the plumbing, and let a pencil-thin stream of water trickle from the highest and farthest faucet. Moving water resists freezing and relieves pressure.

Do Not Forget the Water Heater and Indoor Valves

Winterizing is a good moment to look at the water heater, since it works hardest in the cold months. Test the temperature and pressure relief valve (the T&P valve) by lifting the lever and letting it snap back; you should hear a quick discharge. If nothing comes out, or it weeps afterward, that valve needs attention. Drain a couple gallons from the bottom drain valve to flush out sediment, which improves efficiency and helps the tank recover faster. If you have a tankless unit in an unconditioned garage, make sure its freeze-protection is powered and the unit stays plugged in.

Finally, find and exercise your main water shut-off, usually where the line enters the house or at the meter near the street. Turn it off and back on so it is not seized when you need it. Everyone in the household should know where it is. When a pipe does burst, the seconds it takes to kill the water decide whether you mop a floor or replace one.

What You Can DIY and When to Call a Pro

Draining hose bibs, adding faucet covers, slipping on foam pipe sleeves, sealing drafts, and flushing the water heater are all solid weekend jobs for a handy homeowner. Call a licensed plumber when the work gets into the walls or the wiring: installing heat tape, adding interior shut-off valves to outdoor lines, a T&P valve that fails its test, a pressure-reducing valve issue, or any pipe in a spot you cannot safely reach. If a pipe is already frozen and you cannot find a leak, do not thaw it with an open flame. Shut off the water, open a nearby faucet, and warm the area gently while you call for help.

Get Ahead of the First Freeze

The best time to winterize is a mild afternoon in late fall, not the night the forecast turns. If you would rather have a licensed set of hands check the crawl space, insulate the vulnerable runs, and pressure-test the system before winter, our family-owned team has handled residential plumbing across the Greater Memphis area and West Tennessee since 2005. Call Patton Plumbing, Heating, and A/C at (901) 489-2119 to schedule a freeze-prevention visit and head off a burst pipe before it starts.