Royal Oak has about 120 days a year at or below 32°F. Pick your town and where your pipes run, and the checker scores how exposed they are on a cold night.
You get a risk level and the steps that help before a cold night.
We look at two things. The first is the average January low where you live, taken from ten years of daily weather. The second is where the pipes run. Pipes in an attic, a crawl space or a garage lose heat faster than pipes in a heated inside wall, and pipes on an outside wall or an outdoor spigot are the most exposed.
Each one adds points. A low score reads as low risk. Higher scores read as moderate, high or severe.
A January low near 20°F adds climate points to the score for Royal Oak. Where the pipes run adds the rest. A line inside a heated wall scores lower than one crossing a crawl space or a garage, and an outdoor spigot scores highest.
An average is a typical figure and not a forecast. A single cold night can be colder than the January average, so the steps in the result are worth doing once and leaving in place.
Know where the main water shut-off valve is. Drain and disconnect garden hoses and cover outdoor spigots before the first freeze. Insulate pipes in unheated spaces. On a freezing night, a slight drip at a faucet and open cabinet doors on outside walls help. If you will be away, keep the heat on or have the plumbing drained. A plumber can look at any run you are unsure about.
January nights in Royal Oak average 20°F, and the year has about 120 days at or below freezing. Spigots on outside walls, pipes in a garage or crawl space and lines in rooms nobody heats are the exposed ones. The picker gives each town’s own figures.
Water freezes at 32°F, but a pipe needs several hours of cold to freeze through. Pipes in an unheated space or on an outside wall are the first to go.
A slight drip keeps water moving through the pipe, and opening cabinet doors lets warm air reach pipes under sinks on outside walls. Both are simple steps for a night that drops below freezing.
It is usually where the water line enters the house, in a garage, a utility room or on an outside wall near the meter. Find it before you need it, and make sure everyone in the house knows where it is.
Keep the heat on at 55°F or higher, or have the plumbing drained before you leave. A plumber can drain the system and tell you how to bring it back.
Climate figures: Daymet daily data 2015 to 2024 for each place.
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