Every winter the burst-pipe calls come from homes that skipped October. The first freeze in Central Texas can hit by late October, and most years it arrives in November — and the homes that take water damage in January are the ones that never did the twenty-minute version of this list.

1. Disconnect your garden hoses

A hose left connected traps water in the spigot. When that water freezes, it expands and can split the pipe inside your wall — and you may not find the leak until you turn that faucet on again. Unscrew them now; coil them in the garage.

2. Cover your hose bibs

Foam faucet covers take thirty seconds to put on and pull tight over the spigot. They insulate it against the cold and buy you real protection on the marginal nights — on their own, they are not enough for a prolonged hard freeze.

3. Know where your main water shutoff is

This is the one that matters most. If a pipe bursts at 2 AM, the difference between a mop-up and a flood is knowing where the shutoff is before you need it.

In the Austin area, the main shutoff is typically buried near the curb — right after the meter box, on the house side of it. Not inside the meter box, not on an exterior wall. Go find yours before the first freeze: find its cover, make sure the valve turns, and show everyone in the house where it is. For the step-by-step, see our full guide to finding your main water shutoff in Austin (plumbersthatcare.com/blog/main-water-shutoff-austin-guide).

4. Winterize your sprinkler system

Standing water in irrigation lines and backflow preventers can freeze and crack fittings, and the damage often shows up as a leak when you start the system back up in spring. Have a licensed irrigation pro winterize the system — blowing out the lines where your system needs it — and make sure the backflow preventer is drained and insulated.

Do the list now and the first freeze is just weather. Skip it and it's a plumbing bill.

And if your shutoff won't turn — or you can't find it — don't force it. That's exactly the kind of thing the free estimate visit is for.

Serving Austin and Marble Falls since 2012. Call for your free estimate visit: (512) 233-6590 in Austin, (830) 460-3565 in Marble Falls. TX Master Plumber #M-41147.