Don’t Let Winter Freeze Your Budget: Essential Pipe Protection for New Jersey Homeowners

When New Jersey’s harsh winter temperatures plummet, your home’s plumbing system faces one of its greatest challenges. Pipes can freeze when temperatures reach below 20 degrees Fahrenheit, and in Central Jersey, the temperature commonly drops below this every winter. Understanding how to protect your pipes from freezing isn’t just about convenience—it’s about preventing thousands of dollars in potential water damage that can devastate your home.

Understanding the Threat: Why New Jersey Winters Are Particularly Dangerous

As winter blankets the northeast, particularly in New Jersey, the chilling temperatures pose a significant threat to homes, especially those in Jersey Shore towns. The problem isn’t just the cold—it’s what happens when water freezes and expands. This expansion puts tremendous pressure on whatever is containing it, including metal or plastic pipes. Expanding water can cause pipes to break, no matter what their strength is.

Pipes located in unheated areas such as basements, attics, garages, and crawl spaces are particularly vulnerable. Even worse, brief four days of sub-freezing temperatures can cause lines to freeze up and when they start to warm up, things fall out and that’s when the pipes split causing major damage to homes.

Essential Prevention Strategies for New Jersey Homeowners

Temperature Management

Your first line of defense is maintaining adequate heat throughout your home. Keep the thermostat at a set temperature. You may want to set the thermostat back for energy savings while you sleep, but keeping your home a little warmer could prevent frozen pipes on bitter cold nights. Keep the thermostat set to the same temperature both during the day and at night. By temporarily suspending the use of lower nighttime temperatures, you may incur a higher heating bill, but you can prevent a much more costly repair job if pipes freeze and burst.

If you’re leaving town during winter, set the thermostat no lower than 55 degrees. You may want to conserve energy while you’re gone, but coming home to frozen or burst pipes isn’t worth the savings.

Insulation and Physical Protection

Proper insulation is the first line of defense against freezing pipes. Wrap these pipes with foam pipe insulation or heat tape. For extra protection, consider using a combination of both. This insulation helps maintain the pipes’ temperature, reducing the risk of freezing.

Consider installing specific products made to insulate water pipes like a “pipe sleeve” or installing UL-listed “heat tape,” “heat cable,” or similar materials on exposed water pipes. Even simple solutions can help: newspaper can provide some degree of insulation and protection to exposed pipes – even ¼” of newspaper can provide significant protection in areas that usually do not have frequent or prolonged temperatures below freezing.

Water Movement Techniques

One of the most effective immediate strategies is keeping water moving. To prevent pipes from freezing, allow a small trickle of water to run overnight. Trickle lukewarm water from a faucet on an exterior wall through the night. Warm water helps keep the pipes heated, but a trickle of water also prevents pressure from building in the faucet. This way, even if your pipes manage to freeze, they’ll be much less likely to burst.

To avoid waste, put a bowl or a pan in a sink or drain to keep that water from getting wasted. Use it to water plants around the house.

Cabinet and Door Management

Open kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors. This way, warm air in the room helps warm the piping located under the sink. Keep garage doors closed if there are water supply lines in the garage. Open kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors to allow warmer air to circulate around the plumbing.

Outdoor Preparation Steps

Don’t forget about your exterior plumbing. Remove, drain and store hoses used outdoors. Always unhook your water hose from your outdoor spigot in the winter. The water inside the hose can freeze and this freezing continues until it reaches your piping. If you have PVC plastic piping leading to the spigot, it will likely burst.

Check the sprinkler and irrigation systems. Anything outside that holds water like sprinklers and hoses should be fully drained and turned off.

What to Do If Pipes Freeze

Despite your best efforts, pipes can still freeze. If you suspect frozen pipes, don’t take any chances. If you turn on your faucets and nothing comes out, leave the faucets turned on and call a plumber.

If you attempt to thaw pipes yourself, never try to thaw a pipe with a torch or other open flame. Water damage is preferable to burning down your house. Also a blowtorch can actually make the water in your frozen piping boil and cause the pipe to explode. Instead, you may be able to thaw a frozen pipe with warm air from a blow dryer. Start by warming the pipe as close to the faucet as possible, working toward the coldest section of pipe.

Professional Help When You Need It

When dealing with frozen pipes or implementing prevention strategies, working with experienced professionals can save you time, money, and stress. As a locally owned and operated company, AME Plumbing Heating and Cooling strongly connects to the Monmouth County community. We’re committed to offering the personalized service that our neighbors deserve.

For residents throughout the region, including those needing a reliable plumber in Toms River, NJ, AME Plumbing Heating and Cooling’s team of licensed professionals delivers unmatched expertise and quality service to every homeowner and business. Specializing in a wide range of plumbing services and HVAC solutions, we pride ourselves on our ability to handle any challenge, ensuring your home’s systems run smoothly and efficiently.

Our team is highly skilled and committed to honesty and transparency. We offer 24/7 emergency services, ensuring we’re always there when you need us. With competitive pricing, extended warranties, and a satisfaction guarantee, we stand behind our work.

The Cost of Prevention vs. Repair

Frozen pipes can lead to significant damage, including burst pipes and flooding, which can be costly and time-consuming to repair. The Insurance Information Institute reports water damage is one of the most common and costliest disasters your home can face.

Professional winterization services typically cost around $150, a pretty fair price compared to what a broken pipe repair may run you. When you consider that burst pipes can cause thousands in water damage, the investment in prevention becomes obvious.

Emergency Preparedness

Despite all precautions, it’s essential to be prepared for emergencies. Know the location of your main water shut-off valve and ensure it’s in working order. Shutting off the water supply quickly can minimize damage in the event of a pipe burst. Keep a plumber’s contact information handy for emergency repairs.

AME Plumbing is a family-owned and operated company you can trust, with dedication to providing comprehensive Plumbing, HVAC, and Drainage Services to the residents and businesses of Monmouth and Ocean Counties. We encompass the Jersey Shore and the heart of Central New Jersey and are committed to excellence, ensuring optimal comfort and functionality for our diverse clientele.

Don’t wait until the next polar vortex hits New Jersey to protect your home. By implementing these prevention strategies and partnering with trusted local professionals, you can keep your pipes flowing and your family comfortable all winter long. Remember, when it comes to frozen pipes, an ounce of prevention truly is worth a pound of cure.