Low temperatures can cause plumbing pipes to freeze and burst, leaving you with unexpected expenses and a huge mess. Your BBB tells you what you need to know in order to avoid this kind of situation:

1. Look for those hidden pipes

Not all pipes are prone to freezing. While the plumbing inside the house will most likely be fine in case of low temperatures, you really need to pay attention to exposed pipes located in unheated areas of your house, pipes hidden in your exterior walls and any kind of outdoor plumbing. These are the culprits!

2. Make outdoor plumbing a priority

A frozen garden hose can cause serious damage to your pipes. What happens is: the water in the hose freezes and expands to the entire plumbing system! Here’s what you need to do: as soon as autumn is over, drain and disconnect all your garden hoses, then add a faucet insulator- it’s inexpensive and extremely helpful!

3. Insulate, insulate, insulate

We can’t stress this enough! If you have pipes in unheated areas of your home, such as the attic, the crawl space or the garage, use pipe insulation- it’s inexpensive, yet it can save you a ton of money. If you live in areas with severe weather conditions, you should invest in thermostatically controlled heat tape (which can cost a few hundred dollars)—wrap it around your pipes and it will start working as soon as temperatures drop below a certain point.

Get more tips to avoid frozen pipes here.

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