How to Prevent Frozen Pipes in Conway, AR: A Homeowner's Winter Checklist

Why Conway's Weather is Actually Dangerous for Pipes

Arkansas winters catch homeowners off guard. We'll go weeks in the 50s and 60s, then plunge into the teens for three nights straight. Most Conway-area homes weren't built for deep sustained cold the way Midwest homes are — insulation in crawl spaces, attic pipes, and exterior walls is often minimal.

A pipe doesn't burst when it freezes. It bursts when the ice expands and creates pressure downstream, often bursting a weak joint hundreds of feet from the frozen section. That's why a single vulnerable pipe can flood an entire house.

The temperature threshold most plumbers use: 20°F or lower, sustained for six or more hours. Conway hits that several times most winters.

Before the Cold Snap: The Four-Hour Winter Prep Checklist

1. Insulate every exposed pipe in the crawl space, attic, or garage. Foam sleeves are $1–3 per foot at any Conway hardware store. Pay special attention to pipes against exterior walls — those are the ones that fail.

2. Locate and label your main water shut-off valve. Test it. If it's stuck, fix it now, not at 2 a.m. when a pipe has burst. Most Conway homes have the valve near the water heater or in a utility area.

3. Seal air leaks around pipe penetrations. A pipe running through a wall into an unheated garage with a half-inch gap around it will freeze before a pipe in an insulated cavity. Caulk or foam the gap.

4. Disconnect outdoor hoses and shut off hose bibs. A hose left connected traps water in the bib line, which freezes and cracks the bib — the leak shows up inside the wall, often not discovered until spring.

When a Cold Snap Is Forecast: The Night-Before Playbook

Open cabinet doors under sinks on exterior walls. Warm room air needs access to those pipes. This applies especially to kitchen sinks against the outer wall and bathroom sinks in corner rooms.

Let a pencil-thin stream of cold water trickle from the faucet farthest from your main line — typically an upstairs bathroom or a kitchen. Moving water freezes much more slowly than static water, and the open faucet also relieves pressure if ice does form.

Keep your thermostat above 60°F day and night. If you're leaving for the holidays, don't go below 55°F, ever. The heating bill savings of a cooler empty house don't come close to a flooded one.

Open the garage door only when needed. Keeping it closed traps warmer air against any water lines running through the garage.

What to Do if a Pipe Has Already Frozen (But Hasn't Burst)

If a faucet produces only a trickle or nothing, you have a frozen line. Keep the faucet open — you want somewhere for melting water to go.

Apply gentle heat to the frozen section: a hair dryer, heating pad wrapped around the pipe, or towels soaked in hot water. Start at the faucet end and work backward toward the frozen area.

Never use an open flame, propane torch, or high-heat device. Not only is it a serious fire hazard — it can boil trapped water and rupture the pipe explosively.

If you can't find the frozen section, or if you suspect the pipe is inside a wall, call a plumber. If you thaw it and find a leak afterward, call us.

If a Pipe Has Burst

Shut the main water valve immediately, then cut power to any affected area at the breaker box.

Document the source and the damage with photos before you start cleanup. You'll need this for your insurance claim.

Call a restoration team — don't just call a plumber. The plumber repairs the pipe. The restoration team dries the house before mold takes hold. Eclipse Custom Solutions is on-site in Conway within 60 minutes, 24/7.

Get fans moving air and open interior doors to encourage airflow. Do not run the HVAC system if water has reached the vents.

The Conway-Specific Risk Map

Three failure points cause 80% of the burst-pipe calls we get in Conway: the garage supply line, the crawl-space run to the kitchen, and the hose bib on the back of the house. If you have an hour this weekend, inspect those three before January.

And if you live in an older home near Downtown, College Ave, or along the Faulkner-Cadron corridor — where original plumbing may still be in service — don't assume insulation is adequate. Get a flashlight into that crawl space.