Winter home repair guide: what to fix before (and when) it freezes
The Fix-It Playbook groups winter home jobs into four areas: keeping water pipes from freezing, keeping the furnace or heat pump running, stopping drafts and ice dams at the roof and walls, and using heat safely. The free answers below cover the most common winter problems; the 20 Fall & Winter guides cover the full step-by-step.
What are the most common winter problems, and how do I fix them?
Frozen pipe? What to do right now, and what temperature pipes freeze at
Open the dead faucet and leave it open, then warm the pipe slowly from the faucet end back toward the ice with a hair dryer, heating pad, or hot wet…
Furnace won't turn on? The checks to do before you pay for a service call
Most furnaces that won't turn on aren't broken. A safety switch has shut them down. Check, in order: the thermostat is on Heat and set 2°F above room…
Heat pump blowing cold air or covered in ice?
Light frost on a heat pump's outdoor unit is normal, and the system melts it off several times a day in a short defrost cycle. Thick ice that doesn't…
Why does my space heater keep tripping the breaker?
A typical 1500-watt space heater draws roughly 12.5 amps, which is most of a standard 15-amp household circuit. Add a lamp or phone charger on the…
Why is one room in my house always colder than the rest?
When the furnace heats every other room fine, the cold room's problem is almost always local: a closed or blocked vent, a drafty window or door, a…
Why is my heating bill so high all of a sudden?
A sudden jump in your heating bill usually comes from two or three small problems stacking up, not one big one. Check a clogged furnace filter first,…
How do I get rid of ice dams safely, and stop them from coming back?
Work only from the ground. Rake snow off the lowest 3–4 ft of roof, then lay a calcium chloride ice-melt sock across the dam with a roof rake or pole…
Which plumbing problems can happen any time of year?
Water heater making a popping noise? What it means and how to fix it
Popping or rumbling while the water heats is almost always sediment. Minerals settle on the bottom of the tank, trap water under the layer, and that…
Toilet keeps running? How to find the cause and fix it yourself
A toilet that keeps running almost always comes down to one of two cheap parts inside the tank. If it refills by itself every few minutes, the…
DIY plumbing repair or call a plumber? How to decide
Most single-fixture problems are DIY jobs: a running toilet, a dripping faucet, a slow bathroom sink or a clogged kitchen drain usually costs $0–25…
Where are the full winter guides, by job?
Each guide is an illustrated, print-ready PDF with the honest DIY-versus-pro cost, the tools you need, and a clear line on when to call a pro. Singles are $6; each five-guide kit is $14.
- Freeze-Proof Plumbing Kit: frozen pipes, the water heater fall tune-up, winterizing irrigation, the sump pump winter check, and your main shutoff and burst-pipe plan.
- Draft-Proof Kit: weatherstripping doors, attic air sealing and insulation, ice dams, the pre-winter roof and flashing check, and winter indoor humidity.
- Heat Kit: a furnace that won't turn on, a heating bill that jumped, heat pumps in winter, the one cold room, and radiators and boilers.
- Winter Safety Kit: carbon monoxide, space heaters and tripping breakers, the fireplace and chimney, the snow blower, and a power-outage plan for a cold house.
The Winter Home: all 20 winter guides
Frozen pipes, drafty doors, ice dams, a furnace that won't fire, and the night the power goes out, in one 109-page file.
Get The Winter Home — $39 →$120 if bought one at a time. Instant PDF, no subscription.
For general homeowner reference only. When a repair involves gas, major electrical, or structural work, call a licensed professional.
Sources
Official and primary sources on the topic. Rules, deadlines and figures change, so confirm current details there before you act.
- Cold Weather, Frozen Pipes? Extension Gives You All You Need to Know (University of Illinois Extension). Recommends insulating exposed pipes, sealing cold-air leaks, keeping heat at 55F or higher, and never thawing a pipe with an open flame or torch.
- MU expert recommends precautions to avoid frozen pipes (University of Missouri Extension). Says to open a faucet and warm a frozen pipe slowly with a blow-dryer, avoiding blowtorches, and to know where the main shutoff is.
- CPSC Offers Tips to Prevent Home Fires From Space Heaters (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission). Advises tested heaters, three feet of clearance from combustibles, turning heaters off when sleeping, and working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms (2003 release).