Winterizing Your Long Island Plumbing Before the First Freeze

Every January we run frozen-pipe calls that were entirely preventable, and the prevention takes about half an hour on a mild Saturday in the fall. Here is the list, in the order we would do it.

Outside first

• Disconnect every garden hose. A connected hose traps water in the bib and that is the classic burst point.

• Shut the interior valve feeding each outdoor spigot, then open the spigot outside to drain the line.

• Fit insulated covers over the hose bibs. They cost a few dollars each.

• Blow out or drain irrigation lines — book this before the schedule fills up in November.

• Shut off and drain any outdoor shower, which is a very Long Island thing to forget.

Then inside

The pipes that freeze are the ones in unheated space: crawl spaces, garages, attics, and runs inside exterior walls. Pipe insulation on any accessible run in those areas is cheap and effective. If you have a genuinely problematic run that freezes most years, self-regulating heat tape solves it permanently.

While you are down there, find your main shutoff and turn it fully closed and open again. Valves that sit untouched for years seize, and the moment you discover that is always the moment you urgently need it to work.

When the hard freeze comes

• Open cabinet doors under sinks on exterior walls so heated air reaches the pipes.

• Run a pencil-width trickle from the fixture furthest from your main overnight.

• Keep the thermostat at or above 55°F even if the house is empty.

• If you are away for a stretch in winter, shut the main and drain the system.

A faucet stopped running in a cold snap?
You have a freeze and a burst is pending. Open the faucet, apply gentle heat with a hair dryer working from the faucet back toward the freeze, and never use an open flame. If you cannot reach it, shut the main and call us.

Pipes usually burst on the thaw rather than the freeze, which is why the damage so often shows up the morning after the cold breaks. Catching it beforehand is the whole game.