Freeze and broken pipes

People first, then pipes

Ready.gov’s winter page is about staying warm without poisoning yourself. Layers, a hat, a closed interior room, and dry clothes matter more than a heroic heater. Never use a generator, grill, camp stove, or charcoal indoors or in the garage. Never use a gas oven as a heater. Carbon monoxide and house fires follow those shortcuts. Space heaters need three feet of clearance and a shutoff when you sleep, unless the maker designed it for something else and you follow that manual.

Know who in the family gets cold faster: infants, older adults, anyone with poor circulation. A freeze warning is a check-on-neighbors day even in the desert.

Pipes

Before a hard freeze, open cabinet doors on exterior walls so room air reaches plumbing, disconnect hoses, and cover hose bibs. Let a faucet drip if your water utility or Ready.gov’s winter guidance recommends it for your type of house. Know the main shutoff so a split pipe does not run all night. If a pipe bursts, shut the water off, shut off the water heater’s power or gas if you can do that safely, and call a plumber. Do not stand in water near electrical devices.