The best safety drip during a hard freeze is a steady, pencil-thin trickle from the faucet farthest from your main water entry — typically the kitchen or upstairs bath. A moving column of water is much harder to freeze than a static one, so a slow drip on both hot and cold sides is usually enough to keep the line open overnight.
Drip the right way
- Open both hot and cold valves slightly
- Aim for a slow, steady stream — about the width of a pencil lead
- Drip the faucet farthest from where the main enters the home
- Open cabinet doors under sinks on exterior walls so warm air reaches the pipes
- Keep your thermostat at 55°F or higher even when away
Drip protection only helps active fixtures — long runs through unheated crawlspaces still need insulation. Get a freeze-resistance review during a plumbing inspection, or call our frozen pipe repair line if a freeze has already hit.
