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Surprising Science — January 8, 2015

A Leaky Faucet Could Save Your Pipes This Winter

If you’re afraid that your shoddy pipes will burst during a spate of cold weather like our current one, try letting your faucet drip a little now to save a whole lot of hassle later.

Robert Montenegro

If you live in a place where winter temperatures sit routinely below freezing, the plumbing in your house were probably installed in a way to safeguard from pipe bursts. But if you live in parts of the United States (or anywhere, for that matter) not acclimated to sharp blasts of bitter cold, it may be prudent to protect your pipes. Kristi King of WTOP in Washington writes:

“It’s hard to imagine that a leaky faucet could be the answer to anything, but letting faucets drip can help prevent them from freezing and bursting in extreme cold. Spigots serving lawns and gardens are particularly vulnerable.”

King interviews a hardware professional who makes several recommendations for plumbing preparation in regions such as the southern mid-Atlantic. The leaky faucet keeps water moving to prevent freezing. It doesn’t take a mathematician to know that expanding ice plus narrow pipes equals unhappy times.

Take a look at the full piece (linked below) and let us know what you think in the comments.

Read more at WTOP

Photo credit: Trista / Shutterstock

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