Georgia temperature drop: How to prevent pipes from bursting

MARIETTA, Ga. - With many across Metro Atlanta bracing for blistering cold conditions over the next few days, experts say it’s important to prepare your homes and pipes for freezing temps expected to get into the teens starting Tuesday.

"Once the air temperature starts to drop into the teens, that’s when water starts to freeze relatively quickly," said Master Plumber Matt Byrne with Coolray Heating and Air in Marietta.

Byrne said low temperatures outside combined with still water inside your pipes can be a recipe for disaster.

"The colder the temperatures are, the faster the water freezes, and that can happen overnight," he told FOX 5.

It’s a triggering scenario for many across Metro Atlanta who saw waterworks inside their homes in the days following Christmas of 2022.

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"After two days of frozen temperatures, our call center had lit up with well over 1800 calls," Byrne recalled.

He said preparing your home ahead of the extreme cold could save you from making one of those dreaded phone calls later.

"If you haven’t already rolled up your hoses and disconnected them from your outside hose bibs," Byrne said.

You can purchase styrofoam covers from a hardware store or use an old towel to wrap your hose bibs.

Byrne said he also recommends letting a steady stream of water flow through the faucets in your home.

"Not dripping, not fully running, but just a slight trickle, just to keep the water moving inside the pipes because moving water is a lot less likely to freeze," he explained.

If things do get icy, it’s important to know where to find your home’s main water valve.

"Once that water stops flowing and you can’t get it out of your faucets, the next thing you’re going to want to do is shut the house off just to prepare," he said.

Byrne says this preparation could save you a lot of money and avoid a wet mess at home in the coming days.

"A frozen burst pipe can range anywhere from a couple of hundreds of dollars, to several thousand dollars, depending on where it’s located," he added.

Byrne also recommended leaving cabinet doors open as a way to help the pipes stay warm and hopefully keep them from freezing.