Prevent frozen pipes in Pennsylvania: a winter checklist.
A weekend of preparation in November or December that will save you a 3 a.m. emergency call in January or February.
Quick answer: The vast majority of frozen-pipe failures we see in Dillsburg occur in three places: an exterior hose bibb that wasn’t shut off and drained, an uninsulated supply line in a crawl space or rim joist, and a kitchen sink on an exterior wall when the cabinet doors stay closed during a cold snap. Address those three and you eliminate roughly 80% of risk.
The 12 steps, in priority order
Do them in order. The first three matter the most.
1. Shut off and drain every exterior hose bibb. (Highest priority.)
If you have a frost-free hose bibb, you still need to disconnect the hose - an attached hose holds water in the spigot and bypasses the frost-free design. If you have a standard (non-frost-free) bibb, find the interior shutoff valve, close it, then open the exterior bib to drain. Most burst-bib calls we run could have been prevented by this 10-minute task.
2. Insulate exposed supply lines in the basement, crawl space, and rim joist.
Foam pipe insulation is $1.50 a foot at any hardware store. Wrap any copper or PEX in unconditioned space. Pay particular attention to the rim joist where the supply enters the house; a 14°F night with a 15 mph wind cools that area faster than the rest of the basement.
3. Open kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors during cold snaps.
If your kitchen sink is on an exterior wall (most are), the supply pipes run up through a relatively cold cavity. Opening the cabinet doors lets warm room air reach those pipes. This is free and effective.
4. Find and label your main shutoff.
Right now, before you need it. The main shutoff is usually inside the basement on the wall closest to the street, just past the meter. In a slab home it may be in a utility closet. Tag it. Make sure every adult in the house knows where it is.
5. Maintain at least 55°F throughout the home, even when away.
If you travel for the holidays, do not turn the thermostat to 50°F to save energy. Below 55°F you’re trading $30 of heating savings for the very real risk of a $5,000 plumbing failure. Set 58–60°F and have a neighbor walk through twice while you’re out.
6. Drip a faucet during single-digit overnight forecasts.
Pick the fixture furthest from your main supply line - usually a bathroom on an exterior wall or upstairs corner. A pencil-thick stream of cold water keeps the line moving and is far cheaper than a repair. Use cold side; you’re trying to keep liquid moving, not warm the pipe.
7. Keep garage doors closed if a supply line runs through the garage.
Many Central PA homes have the laundry-room or kitchen line running through an attached garage’s ceiling. Garage doors left ajar in January will freeze that line in hours.
8. Service your sump pump and battery backup.
Frozen-pipe season also coincides with mid-winter thaws and ice-jam flooding. Test the sump pump by lifting the float; verify the discharge isn’t blocked with ice; if your battery backup is older than 5 years, replace the battery.
9. Service your water heater.
Hot water heaters work harder in winter (cold inlet temperatures). A flush and anode check before December extends life and reduces the chance of a January failure.
10. Insulate the attic access hatch and exterior-wall outlet boxes.
Cold air infiltrating through these spots cools nearby pipes. A $12 outlet-gasket kit and a $15 attic hatch insulator pay back in a single winter.
11. Wrap any pipes in chronically cold spots with heat tape.
Heat tape (thermostatically controlled, UL-listed) is appropriate for crawl-space supply lines that have frozen before. It is not a substitute for insulation, and the cheaper unregulated heat tape is a fire hazard. Use only the kind with a built-in thermostat, and never wrap heat tape over itself.
12. Know what to do if a pipe freezes but hasn’t burst.
- Open the affected faucet first. The flowing water relieves pressure as the ice thaws.
- Apply heat from a hair dryer along the suspected frozen section, starting from the faucet end and working backward.
- Never use an open flame, propane torch, or kerosene heater. Attic and crawl-space fires are real every January in PA.
- If you can’t locate the freeze or it doesn’t thaw within 30 minutes, shut off the main and call us.
What we charge to do all 12 of these for you
A full winter prep visit (steps 1, 2, 5 verification, 8, 9, plus a walkthrough on the rest) typically runs $280–$420 in the Dillsburg area, depending on house size and how much insulation we add. Compared to the average burst-pipe repair ($800–$3,400 plus drying and drywall), it’s the cheapest plumbing-insurance you can buy.
Want us to do the prep ourselves?
We book winter-prep visits in October and November. Call before the cold gets here.
Other plumbing services we handle in Dillsburg & Central PA
Whatever the job, our master-licensed plumbers from 2 W York St handle it under one roof. Click any service for the full breakdown - or just call (223) 200-3488 and we'll dispatch.