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Almost everything that freezes in a Utah house could have been dealt with on a warm Saturday in October. The work is not difficult and it is not expensive. It is a hose disconnected, a vent closed, a length of pipe wrapped, and a shutoff everybody in the house can find in the dark. Here is the order to do it in, roughly what each item protects, and the few that are worth booking rather than doing yourself.
Before the First Hard Freeze
Disconnect every garden hose. This is the single most common cause of a split line in Utah, and it is the easiest to prevent. A hose left attached traps water against the bib, the water freezes and expands, and the split often ends up on the pipe inside the wall rather than on the bib you can see. Drain the hose and store it, then close the interior shutoff for that bib if it has one and open the bib outside to let the line drain.
Then walk the perimeter and close the crawlspace vents. They are there for summer moisture and they are a liability in January. While you are down there, look at what pipe is actually exposed and how far it is from outside air. Insulate the exposed runs, paying attention to the ones nearest a vent, a crawlspace door or an uninsulated rim joist.
The Sprinkler System and Secondary Water
Irrigation lines hold water all summer and they do not drain themselves. Blowing out the system before the first sustained freeze is standard practice across the Wasatch Front, and on a secondary water system the timing is set by when the supplier shuts the water off for the season. Backflow preventers and above-ground manifolds are the parts that split, because they sit in the open air. Insulating covers help; draining properly is what actually protects them.
Inside the House
Find the main shutoff and make sure it turns. A valve nobody has touched in eleven years is a valve that may not close when it matters, and discovering that with water running is a bad evening. Show everyone in the house where it is. Label it. If it will not move freely, have it replaced now rather than in an emergency.
Then check the runs that cross cold space: pipe in an exterior wall, anything in an unheated garage, lines crossing an attic, and the run to a laundry sink or a bar sink in a corner of the basement that never gets warm. Cabinet doors under a kitchen or bathroom sink on an exterior wall should be opened on the coldest nights so heated room air reaches the pipe. That single trick prevents a surprising number of calls.
The Checklist, in Order
| Job | What it protects | Do it yourself or book it |
|---|---|---|
| Disconnect and drain every garden hose | The hose bib and the pipe behind it inside the wall | Yourself, before the first freeze |
| Close crawlspace and foundation vents | Every pipe running through the crawlspace | Yourself |
| Blow out the sprinkler system | Irrigation lines, the manifold and the backflow preventer | Book it, most homeowners lack the compressor |
| Insulate exposed pipe in cold spaces | Crawlspace, garage, attic and rim joist runs | Yourself for accessible runs |
| Test that the main shutoff actually closes | The whole house, on the night it matters | Yourself, and replace it if stiff |
| Open sink cabinets on exterior walls | Kitchen and bathroom supply lines | Yourself, on cold nights only |
| Drain the system if the house will sit empty | Everything, and this is the reliable one | Book it for a long absence |
| Service the sump pump and its backup | The basement that receives the water | Book it if the pump is old or noisy |
Homes on the Benches and Up the Canyons
Cold air drains downhill and settles, so a house against the east bench, in Cottonwood Heights, the upper Avenues or toward the canyon mouths runs colder overnight than the valley-floor forecast suggests, and it holds that cold later into the morning. North-facing walls there see very little winter sun. Second homes and cabins that sit empty through a cold week are the highest-risk category of all, and for those the answer is not insulation. It is shutting the main and draining the system, every time.
When It Has Already Gone Wrong
A tap that gives nothing while the rest of the house works normally means that branch has frozen and has probably not split yet. Open the tap, warm the space with ambient heat, and never take a torch or a heat gun to the pipe. If water is already showing, shut the main first and read the rest afterwards. We cover what to do next on the burst and frozen pipe repair page.
Utah Winter Plumbing FAQs
When should I winterise plumbing in Utah?
Before the first sustained overnight freeze rather than after the first cold snap, because the first hard night is the one that catches people. Hoses and crawlspace vents are early October jobs. Sprinkler blowouts follow the secondary water shutoff, which your supplier sets. Leaving it until a cold front is forecast is how everyone ends up in the same queue.
Does leaving a tap dripping actually help?
It helps on a specific run on a specific night, because moving water is harder to freeze and a dripping tap relieves the pressure that does the damage. It is a short-term measure for a night you already know is going to be severe, not a substitute for insulating the run that keeps freezing.
Do I really need to disconnect the garden hose?
Yes, and it is the highest-value item on this list. A connected hose holds water against the bib, and when that water freezes and expands the failure often occurs on the pipe inside the wall rather than at the bib itself. That means the leak appears inside the house at the thaw, not outside at the freeze.
What should I do if the house will be empty in January?
For a few days, leave the heat on low and open the cabinets on exterior walls. For a week or more, or for a house in a canyon or on the bench, shut the main and drain the system. A drained house cannot burst, and no amount of insulation offers the same certainty.
Are pipe heat cables a good idea?
They work on a specific problem run that cannot be insulated or rerouted, and they need to be the correct type for the pipe, installed to the manufacturer instructions and plugged into a working outlet. They are not a whole-house answer, and a cable someone fitted a decade ago is worth looking at before you rely on it this winter.
Can you winterise the house for me?
Yes, and the items worth booking are the sprinkler blowout, a full drain-down for an empty property, and a look at the runs that keep causing trouble. Tell us the address and whether the house has a crawlspace, and we will tell you what is worth doing before the cold arrives.
Related Winter Plumbing Services in Utah
The jobs behind this checklist: burst and frozen pipe repair in Salt Lake City, sump pump installation and service for the basement that takes the water, leak detection when something has been leaking quietly all winter, water heaters which work hardest in the coldest months, whole-house repiping where old pipe keeps failing in the same places, and the areas we serve across the Salt Lake Valley and Utah County.
Book Winter Plumbing Work Before the Cold
Tell us the address, whether the house has a crawlspace or a sprinkler system, and whether anywhere will be sitting empty this winter, and we can tell you what is worth booking and what you can do yourself in an afternoon. To arrange winter plumbing work in Utah, call Lets Fix Plumbing at (801) 346-9896 or send the details through the form below.