How to keep your pipes from freezing in a Shreveport-Bossier cold snap

Hard freezes don’t happen every winter in the ArkLaTex. That’s why they catch people off guard. Pipes in attics, crawlspaces and outside walls often have little protection. A few steps before a cold night can prevent a burst pipe and a flooded house.

Watch the forecast from the National Weather Service in Shreveport. When a hard freeze is coming, use this checklist. Unless noted, the tips below come from the American Red Cross.

Which pipes freeze first

• Outdoor hose faucets (hose bibs), swimming pool supply lines and sprinkler lines
• Pipes in unheated spaces: basements, crawlspaces, attics, garages and kitchen cabinets
• Pipes that run along outside walls with little or no insulation

Before cold weather sets in

• Drain sprinkler and pool supply lines as the manufacturer or installer directs. Don’t put antifreeze in these lines unless they tell you to.
• Disconnect and drain garden hoses. Close the inside valve that feeds an outdoor faucet, then open the outside faucet so water can drain out. Leave that outside faucet open so any water left inside can expand without breaking the pipe.
• Insulate pipes in unheated areas, both hot and cold water lines. Pipe sleeves work, and so do UL-listed heat tape or heat cable.

The night of a hard freeze

• Keep the garage door closed if water lines run through the garage.
• Open kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors so warm air reaches the pipes. If you have kids, move cleaners and other chemicals out of reach first.
• Let cold water drip from a faucet fed by exposed pipes. Moving water helps keep pipes from freezing.
• Keep the thermostat at the same temperature day and night. Your bill may be a little higher, but that costs far less than a burst pipe.
• Leaving town? Set the heat no lower than 55°F.

If a pipe freezes

If you turn on a faucet and get only a trickle, a pipe may be frozen. The Red Cross says to:

1. Keep the faucet open. As the ice melts, running water helps melt the rest.
2. Warm the frozen section with an electric heating pad, a hair dryer, a portable space heater kept away from anything flammable, or towels soaked in hot water.
3. Never use a blowtorch, a kerosene or propane heater, a charcoal stove or any open flame. They’re a fire risk.
4. Keep applying heat until full water pressure comes back.
5. Check your other faucets. If one pipe froze, others may have too.

Call a licensed plumber if you can’t find the frozen spot, can’t reach it, or can’t thaw it.

Our tip: know your main shutoff

Find your home’s main water shutoff valve before winter and make sure it turns. If a pipe ever bursts, you’ll want to close it fast. Then take photos before cleanup and call your insurance company. Our storm damage and insurance claim guide covers how to document damage.

More fall prep: our fall home checklist.