To prepare your home for winter, protect the plumbing first: shut off and drain the outdoor faucets, store the hoses and insulate pipes in unheated spaces. Then get the heating serviced, clear the gutters, seal drafts and test the smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. Start in early fall, a few weeks before your usual first hard freeze, while contractors still have openings.
Winter prep checklist#
| When |
Job |
| Early fall |
Book the furnace, boiler or heat pump service. Book the chimney sweep if you burn wood. |
| Early fall |
Check the HVAC filter, test smoke and CO alarms |
| After the leaves fall |
Clean gutters and check downspouts drain away from the house |
| Before the first hard freeze |
Shut off and drain outdoor faucets, store hoses, winterize sprinklers |
| Before the first hard freeze |
Insulate pipes in the garage, crawl space, attic and outside walls |
| Any time in fall |
Weatherstrip and caulk drafty doors and windows |
| Before storms |
Restock emergency supplies, charge power banks, find the flashlights |
How to keep pipes from freezing#
Water expands as it freezes, and that's enough to split copper or plastic pipe. The American Red Cross's frozen pipes guide lists the pipes that freeze most often: outdoor hose bibs, swimming pool and sprinkler supply lines, pipes in unheated basements, crawl spaces, attics, garages and kitchen cabinets, and pipes that run along poorly insulated exterior walls.
Before cold weather, the Red Cross recommends:
- Disconnect, drain and store garden hoses. A hose left attached can trap water in the faucet, which is a common way even frost-free faucets split.
- Close the indoor shutoff valve that feeds each outdoor faucet, then open the outdoor faucet to let it drain. Leave it open all winter so any water left in the pipe has room to expand.
- Drain sprinkler and pool supply lines following the installer's or manufacturer's directions. Don't put antifreeze in them unless the instructions say to.
- Insulate pipes in unheated areas with foam pipe sleeves, or fit UL-listed heat tape or heat cable on pipes that are especially exposed. Both hot and cold lines need it.
EPA WaterSense gives the same advice for irrigation: shut off the water supply and drain the lines before freezing weather arrives. Many sprinkler companies offer a blow-out service with compressed air, which is worth paying for if your system doesn't have drain valves.
During a cold snap#
When temperatures drop well below freezing, let a cold faucet on an exposed pipe drip, keep the garage door closed if water lines run through the garage, and open the cabinet doors under kitchen and bathroom sinks so warm air reaches the pipes (move cleaning products out of children's reach first). The Red Cross also advises keeping the thermostat at the same temperature day and night during a cold spell.
If you'll be away#
Leave the heating on. The Red Cross says to set it no lower than 55°F (about 13°C). For longer absences, shut off the main water valve too, and ask someone to check on the house.
Get the heating checked#
ENERGY STAR's maintenance checklist recommends a professional check of the heating system every fall. Among other things, the technician checks gas or oil connections, the burner and the heat exchanger, which ENERGY STAR notes can be a fire hazard when they aren't working properly. Book it in September or early October; once the first cold week hits, everyone calls at once.
On your side, check the furnace filter monthly through the heating season. The HVAC filter guide covers sizes and how often to change it. If you have a fireplace or wood stove, get the chimney inspected before the first fire.
Seal drafts without blocking ventilation#
Ready.gov's winter weather page recommends insulation, caulking and weather stripping to keep the cold out. On a windy day, hold a lit incense stick or a strip of tissue near door frames, window frames, the attic hatch and where pipes go through exterior walls. Where it flickers, there's a draft. Weatherstrip doors and opening windows, and caulk the gaps around fixed frames.
Don't block anything that's meant to let air in. Fuel-burning furnaces, boilers and water heaters need their combustion air supply, and bathroom fans and dryer vents need a clear path out.
Clear gutters and drainage#
Clear the gutters after the last leaves fall, not before, or you'll be doing it twice. Make sure downspouts empty well away from the foundation. Blocked gutters overflow onto walls and foundations, and in cold climates the water left standing in them freezes. The gutter cleaning guide covers the schedule and doing it safely from a ladder.
Bring in or tie down anything that can blow around in a storm, and drain and store fuel-powered yard equipment as its manual says.
Plan for a power outage#
Test the smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms, and replace the batteries if they're due. Ready.gov specifically recommends alarms with battery backup. Then gather enough supplies to stay home for several days without power: water, food that doesn't need cooking, medicines, flashlights, batteries and a way to charge phones. Make a plan for anyone in the house who relies on powered medical equipment.
If you have a portable generator, it goes outside only, never in the house, basement or garage, even with the garage door open. The CDC says to keep it at least 20 feet from doors, windows and vents. Never heat the house with a gas oven, a grill or a camp stove. They all produce carbon monoxide.
What to do if a pipe freezes#
If you turn on a faucet and only a trickle comes out, suspect a frozen pipe. The Red Cross's steps:
- Keep the faucet open. As the ice melts, running water helps melt the rest.
- Warm the frozen section with a hair dryer, an electric heating pad wrapped around the pipe, towels soaked in hot water, or a space heater kept well away from anything flammable.
- Never use a blowtorch, a kerosene or propane heater, a charcoal stove or any other open flame.
- Keep applying heat until full water pressure comes back, then check the other faucets in the house.
Call a licensed plumber if you can't find the frozen section, can't reach it, or can't thaw it. If a pipe has already burst, shut off the main water valve first and then call. That's why it's worth knowing where the main shutoff is, and checking it actually turns, before winter starts.
The spring version of this list, for checking what winter damaged, is the spring home maintenance checklist. A fall reminder in ChoreLists.com for the faucets and furnace booking means the list starts on time instead of the night of the first freeze.