How to keep your pipes from freezing in a Toronto winter

In the fall, before the first hard frost

1. Shut off and drain outdoor taps. Turn off the inside valve feeding every hose tap, then open the tap outside so it empties, disconnect the hose and leave that hose bib open until spring.
2. Find your vulnerable pipes. Look under sinks set against exterior walls, along cold garage and crawlspace runs, and wherever a line has iced up in past winters.
3. Seal the drafts. Cold air leaking in around rim joists, dryer vents and cable entries freezes pipes faster than a cold wall does. Spray foam and caulk are cheap.
4. Insulate exposed pipes with foam pipe sleeves, especially in garages and crawlspaces.
5. Locate the main shut-off and give it a test turn. If it’s seized, have it replaced before winter.

When a cold snap is forecast

• Keep the heat on and steady, day and night. Don’t turn it far down when you go out.
• Prop open the vanity and kitchen cupboards on exterior walls so house heat gets to the plumbing.
• Let a thin stream of cold water run overnight from taps on vulnerable pipes.
• If supply lines cross the garage, keep its overhead door shut on cold days.

If you’re going away

Leave the heat on, ask someone to check the house regularly, and for a long absence consider shutting off the main water valve and draining the lines. Read your home insurance policy too: many have conditions about heat and regular checks when a home sits empty in winter.

If a pipe freezes anyway

Open the tap and thaw the line slowly using warm towels or a blow dryer; no torches, ever. If the ice is hidden in a wall or the copper has cracked, close the main and phone us. Our page on frozen and burst pipe repair explains what we do on these calls.

Fix it for good

If the same pipe freezes every year, the real fix is moving it, insulating the wall cavity, or sealing the air leak that chills it. That’s usually a small job next to the cost of water damage.