How to Prevent Frozen Pipes in a Winnipeg Winter

Winnipeg regularly hits −30°C and colder, and frost drives deep. Pipes here freeze for four repeatable reasons: they run through an exterior wall, they run through an unheated crawlspace or garage, the water service is shallower than the frost line, or someone left a hose connected to an outdoor tap.

Before the cold hits

Disconnect every garden hose. Water trapped in the hose freezes back into the sillcock and splits it. You will not find out until spring, when you turn the tap on and water pours into your wall. Do this in October.

Insulate the vulnerable runs. Foam pipe sleeves on any water line in an exterior wall, crawlspace, garage or cold room. It is inexpensive and it is the highest-return thing on this list.

Seal the cold air paths. A frozen pipe is usually caused by a draught, not by ambient temperature. Seal rim-joist gaps, foundation cracks, dryer vent gaps and around hose bibs.

Know where your main shut-off is — and make sure it actually turns. Everyone in the house should know. In an active burst, seconds matter.

Have your sump pump and drains checked before winter. We offer pre-winter drain and sump inspections — call +1 (204) 399-4413 to book.

During a deep freeze

Open cupboard doors under kitchen and bathroom sinks on exterior walls so warm room air reaches the pipes.

Run a pencil-thin trickle from the tap furthest from your service entry on the coldest nights. Moving water is much harder to freeze, and the small water cost is nothing next to a burst pipe.

Keep the heat on when you travel. Never below 15°C, even for a week away. Ask someone to check the house.

Keep the garage door closed if any plumbing runs through it.

If a pipe has already frozen

You will notice no water, or a trickle, at one fixture while others are fine. Act quickly — water expands as it freezes and pipes split with very little warning.

Open the affected tap so melting water has somewhere to go and pressure can release.

Never use a torch or open flame. It is a leading cause of house fires during cold snaps, and it can split the pipe on the spot.

Apply gentle, even heat — a hair dryer, a heat lamp, or towels soaked in hot water — starting at the tap end and working back toward the frozen section.

If you cannot find or reach it, call us. We locate frozen sections, thaw them with controlled equipment, and inspect afterwards for splits and stress.

If water starts spraying, shut the main off immediately and call.

Frozen pipes in Selkirk and rural communities

Properties in Selkirk, Headingley, East and West St. Paul, and other communities north and west of Winnipeg often have water services that run longer distances and through less-insulated ground. Frozen water services are more common in these areas, and the fix is usually insulation depth or a heat trace cable on the service line.

When to call a pro

If you cannot locate or reach the frozen section, or if water starts spraying when you thaw it, call +1 (204) 399-4413 immediately. We serve Winnipeg, Selkirk, Steinbach, and everywhere within 100 km, 24/7.