Winterize Your Spokane Home Against Frozen Pipes

Updated November 11, 2026 · 6 min read

Pick a weekend in October or November

Set aside two to three hours and a handful of supplies: foam pipe sleeves, a few foam hose bib covers, caulk or foam sealant, a flashlight, and a small tool kit. Doing the work before the leaves come down is ideal, but mid-November still beats waiting for the first freeze warning.

1. Hose bibs and outdoor lines

Outdoor faucets are the most common failure point.

1. Disconnect every hose. Even a short length of hose traps water that freezes and pushes back into the pipe.
2. Drain the faucet. Open it and let the last water run out.
3. Find the interior shutoff. Many homes have a valve inside, often in the basement or crawlspace, that feeds only the outdoor spigot. Close it, then open the outside faucet to drain the pipe. Leave the faucet open a crack so any trapped water can expand.
4. Cover the spigot. If you have no interior valve, install an insulated foam cover on the outside. Frost-free sillcocks, which place the valve inside the heated wall, still need the hose removed because a hose can keep them from draining.
5. Drain sprinkler systems with a compressed-air blowout before the first deep freeze. Irrigation backflow assemblies and exposed pipes are often damaged.

2. Crawlspace and foundation vents

Homes with crawlspaces have long runs of supply pipe and a lot of cold air.

• Close the foundation vents for the winter if your crawlspace has manual vents. Open them again in spring to let moisture escape.
• Check the access hatch for gaps. A hatch that does not seal pulls cold air across pipes.
• Look for missing insulation on the underside of the floor and around the rim joist. Gaps near pipes are frozen-pipe invitations.
• Fix any torn vapor barrier so ground moisture does not condense on pipes.
• Seal penetrations where pipes, wires or ducts pass through the rim with spray foam or caulk.

If your crawlspace already has standing water or a musty smell, deal with that before you close it up, because a sealed space with moisture can breed mold. See the water damage restoration page for what a dry-out involves.

3. Garage and outbuilding supply lines

Garages often have a laundry hookup, a utility sink, or a line that runs through to a shop or an exterior wall.

• Insulate any exposed supply lines with foam sleeves.
• Keep the garage door closed in cold weather. A few hours open on a 10-degree night can freeze lines.
• If the garage is not heated, consider shutting off and draining the supply to a hookup you are not using.
• Seal the gap beneath the garage door and the wall between garage and house.
• Do not store water-filled containers where they could freeze and burst.

For detached shops, well houses and barns, the safest approach is to drain the lines or to use thermostat-controlled heat cable, and to keep a small heater with a thermostat in a well house.

4. Attic and exterior wall pipes

Pipes in outside walls and under insulated attic floors are exposed to cold air on one side.

• Open the cabinet doors below sinks on exterior walls during cold nights so warm room air reaches the pipe.
• Add insulation to exterior-wall cavities where there are gaps.
• In an attic, make sure insulation covers the pipes and does not block recessed vents.
• Seal drafts around pipe penetrations at the sill and at the roof.

5. Thermostat settings and leaving town

The furnace is your main freeze protection, so set it with care.

• While you are home: keep the thermostat at a normal setting. Dropping it at night by a few degrees is fine.
• When traveling: hold the heat at 55 degrees or higher. A setting below that saves little and risks the coldest corners of the house.
• Open interior doors to rooms with plumbing so heat circulates.
• Ask a neighbor or friend to check the home every day or two, especially during a cold snap or a storm.
• Consider a smart thermostat or a temperature sensor that texts you if the house cools down. Pair it with a water leak sensor near the water heater and under sinks.
• For long trips, shut off the main water, drain the system and turn off the water heater. A plumber can help if you have never done it.

6. Heat tape and heat cable

Electric heat cable is common on exposed pipes and in crawlspaces, and it can be useful if used correctly.

• Choose a product rated for your pipe material (metal, plastic, PEX), and follow the label for how it is wrapped.
• Prefer self-regulating or thermostat-controlled cable. Older tape without a thermostat can overheat.
• Do not overlap the cable on itself unless the label says you can.
• Plug it into a GFCI outlet. Check the cord, plug and connections each autumn.
• Do not wrap it with ordinary insulation unless the maker approves it, because trapped heat can damage the pipe.
• Replace any cable that is cracked, brittle or discolored.
• Remember that heat tape fails when the power does. Do not rely on it as the only plan.

7. The furnace, gutters and the roof

A furnace that fails in a cold snap puts every pipe at risk. Replace the filter, listen for odd noises, and have the system checked in the fall. Avista Utilities supplies electricity and gas across most of the region, and outages during storms happen, so keep a plan for heat. A fireplace or wood stove can help in a power failure if used safely.

Clean gutters and downspouts before snow. Ice dams in heavy-snow winters can force water under shingles and into attic insulation and ceilings. A roof leak water damage problem is a different job from a frozen pipe, but both begin with the same cold week.

8. Know your shutoffs and your emergency plan

Walk through the house with everyone who lives there and find:

• The main water shutoff
• The water heater shutoff (gas or electric)
• The breaker panel
• The outdoor spigot shutoffs

Tape the plumber's number on the inside of a cabinet. Our guide on what to do when pipes freeze covers the emergency side.

A quick check list you can print

• Hoses off, spigots drained or covered
• Sprinklers blown out
• Crawlspace vents closed and hatch sealed
• Exposed pipes wrapped with foam
• Heat cable inspected and plugged into GFCI
• Garage door seals checked
• Thermostat plan for travel set
• Furnace serviced
• Main shutoff located and tested

If a pipe still fails

Even a good plan can lose to a strange cold snap. If a pipe does burst, shut off the main, call a plumber and a restoration crew, and document the damage. Costs vary; the water cleanup side and the plumber's repair are separate bills, and the inspection gives you a real figure. The burst pipe repair cost guide and the page on burst pipe cleanup explain how it usually goes.

Homes on larger rural lots north of the city, including those around Mead and Deer Park, tend to have longer exposed runs, well houses and outbuildings, so they deserve extra time on this list. The earlier you check, the less it costs.

Sources and official resources

• Verify a Washington contractor (Washington L&I)
• Home insurance guide (Washington Insurance Commissioner)
• IICRC: restoration industry standards body
• Spokane weather and freeze warnings (National Weather Service)
• A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture and Your Home (EPA)