A Year-Round Plumbing Plan for Grand Rapids Winters

Plumbing in Grand Rapids has to get through cold winters with deep freezes and lake-effect snow, a wet spring thaw that keeps sump pumps running, and humid summers that make cold pipes sweat. Most frozen pipes and wet basements can be prevented by doing a few tasks in the right season.

Seasonal Plumbing Planner

My home has

A basement A crawl space Outdoor spigots A sump pump A gas water heater An electric water heater Pipes on outside walls or in an attached garage A rental unit or second unit

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Tick what your home has, then press Build My Plan.

The Plumbing Year Season by Season

Most of the work comes in autumn, before the first hard frost.

More columns to the right: swipe.

Seasonal plumbing tasks for a Grand Rapids home

Season	Task	Where in the home	How often	Why it matters
Autumn	Disconnect hoses and drain outdoor spigots	Spigot valves on the basement ceiling	Every autumn	Water left in a spigot freezes and can split the pipe inside the wall
Autumn	Insulate pipes on outside walls	Sink walls, crawl space, attached garage	Once, then check yearly	These lines sit closest to the cold
Autumn	Flush sediment from the water heater	Basement or utility room	Once a year	Sediment takes up room meant for hot water
Winter	Keep the heat at 55 °F or higher	Every room, including an empty unit	All winter	Pipes inside walls rely on the warmth of nearby rooms
Winter	Clear snow from the sump outlet	Where the discharge line ends outside	After heavy snow	Lake-effect snow can bury the outlet and send water back to the foundation
Spring	Test the sump pump with a bucket of water	Sump pit in the basement floor	Before the thaw	Snowmelt and rain raise groundwater after the pump has sat idle
Spring	Reopen spigots and look for drips	Basement ceiling near each spigot	After the last hard frost	A pipe split by ice often leaks only once water runs again
Summer	Look for sweating pipes	Cold water lines in the basement or crawl space	In humid spells	Condensation can pass for a leak and keeps joists damp
Summer	Check washer hoses and clean aerators	Laundry area, kitchen and bath faucets	Once a year	A bulging hose can fail without warning

Before the First Freeze

Work through this list in autumn, before snow covers the spigots and the sump outlet.

• Garden hoses disconnected, drained and stored.
• Outdoor spigots shut off inside and drained.
• Main shutoff found, clear of stored boxes and known to turn.
• Foam insulation on pipes along outside walls, in the crawl space and in the garage.
• Drafts sealed where pipes pass through the rim joist or foundation.
• Crawl space vents closed and the access door shut tight.
• Sump pump tested and its discharge line clear to the outlet.

Supply lines inside an outside wall freeze first, often at a kitchen sink under a window. When a remodel opens that wall, move the lines to an inside wall or put insulation between them and the cold side.

Shut Off and Drain Outdoor Spigots

Many older houses have an inside shutoff valve for each outdoor spigot, usually on the basement ceiling near the wall. A frost-proof sillcock closes inside the wall, where it stays warmer, but it only drains with the hose off.

1. Disconnect every hose, frost-proof sillcocks included. A hose left on holds water in the spigot, where it can freeze and split the pipe.
2. Close the inside shutoff valve for each spigot.
3. Open the outside faucet and leave it open so the line can drain.
4. Over a bucket, open the small bleeder cap on the inside valve, let the water out, then close the cap.
5. In spring, close the outside faucet, open the inside valve and check for drips before using the hose.

Thaw a Frozen Pipe Safely

A faucet that gives only a trickle on a very cold morning usually has ice in the line. If the pipe has split or bulged, close the main shutoff and arrange a pipe repair before thawing it: the leak starts as the ice melts.

1. Open the faucet the pipe feeds, hot and cold, so melting water has somewhere to go.
2. Find the frozen stretch, usually along an outside wall, near a basement window or in a crawl space or garage.
3. Start warming next to the faucet and work back toward the frozen section.
4. Use a hair dryer, a heating pad or warm wet towels. A space heater can warm the area if it stays away from water and anything that can burn.
5. Never use an open flame or a torch.
6. Keep warming until full pressure returns, then check the whole run for drips.

If the frozen pipe is inside a wall or ceiling, leave the faucet open, raise the heat in the room and call rather than cut into the wall.

Questions About Frozen Pipes and Seasonal Care

When Winter Gets Into the Pipes

If a pipe has frozen, a spigot leaks inside the wall or the sump pump has stopped, book service and tell us what you found. You can also call (616) 681-4424.