The Clothespin Trick for Frozen Pipes

“My outside tap is frozen solid!” The same complaint began appearing, house by house, from almost every home in the street. People pointed the finger at the cold snap, the council and the “crazy weather”.

At the end of the cul-de-sac, however, one modest house was oddly peaceful. There were no frantic messages, frozen pipes or plumbers’ vans. A retired couple simply made coffee while the rest of the neighbourhood battled with hairdryers and buckets. The only noticeable difference? A small, rather absurd-looking wooden clothespin attached to a pipe beside the outside tap.

That clothespin came with a story. As it happened, it was also making everyone else rather annoyed.

Why a tiny clothespin can mean a warm shower while your neighbour’s pipes burst

The clothespin trick seems so daft that people usually laugh the first time they spot it. It is just a small wooden peg fixed to a pipe, or to a short piece of fabric wrapped around an exposed section. There is no foam lagging, pricey gadget from a DIY shop or anything resembling high-tech winter equipment. It is simply an object normally used on a washing line.

Still, those who rely on it often share one advantage: their pipes do not burst after temperatures have remained below freezing for three nights running. Their kitchen taps work, the washing machine keeps going and the boiler does not display an error code halfway through a Sunday morning shower. From outside on the pavement, it can seem distinctly unfair.

During a cold spell on a small Pennsylvania street last winter, five households phoned emergency plumbers. Two suffered flooded basements, while one family had to stay in a hotel after its main pipe split behind a wall. The sole home that came through unscathed had a clothespin and an old towel wrapped around the pipe leading to the outside tap. Its owner, a retired maintenance technician, merely shrugged: “My dad taught me that when I was a kid. Costs nothing.” His neighbours looked at the peg as though it were witchcraft.

In cold parts of North America and Europe, old-fashioned plumbers still mention simple pipe “markers”: fabric tied in one place, a peg clipped in another or an elastic band positioned at a specific point. These little items are not ornaments but prompts. They identify where to drain, open or insulate. Over time, such habits were overshadowed by plastic devices and smart thermostats. The figures, however, have changed very little: hundreds of thousands of homes face frozen pipes every winter, and many incidents begin at one small exposed section that nobody considered.

The reasoning behind the clothespin is almost painfully straightforward. Water does not freeze at random inside plumbing. It attacks vulnerable areas, including narrow outdoor lengths, pipes in unheated garages and short runs through crawl spaces. A pipe will not normally rupture where the ice first develops; it breaks where pressure accumulates behind the ice blockage. One unprotected bend or outside tap can therefore damage an entire pipe run concealed within a wall. The clothespin serves as a visible physical prompt: this spot matters. Put it where action is needed before frost arrives, and you are more likely to remember even on an evening when you are exhausted and want nothing more than to sit on the sofa.

The forgotten winter routine: how the clothespin trick works

The real value of the clothespin is not that it insulates a pipe on its own. It does not. Its usefulness comes from the routine it creates. Attach the peg to a small piece of fabric or foam wrapped around the pipe section most likely to freeze: often the supply pipe for an outside tap, a line in an unheated garage or the part running along an external wall below the kitchen sink.

Whenever freezing weather is forecast, the clothespin acts as a visual alarm. You notice it while parking the car or taking out the rubbish. It reminds you to shut the internal isolation valve, open the outside tap and allow the remaining water to drain. You can pull the fabric slightly tighter, and perhaps open the cupboard beneath the sink so warm air reaches the pipe. These are small actions that take no more than five minutes.

People using a clothespin system do not attach one at random “somewhere on a pipe”. They position it precisely at the point where action is required: beside the indoor shut-off valve or where the pipe passes through the wall. One Canadian reader said she uses three colours of clothespin: red means “close and drain this”, blue means “insulate here”, and green means “leave a trickle running when it’s -20°C”. Her teenagers may roll their eyes, but their showers continue to work while friends post videos of burst pipes on social media.

In theory, everybody knows the advice: protect exposed plumbing, drain outside taps and allow a slight flow of water during severe cold. In practice, life intervenes. You arrive home late, the children need feeding and the dog has brought mud indoors. Your weather app issues an alert, you think “I’ll do it after the dishes”, and then forget. By morning, the tap produces nothing at all. This is where the clothespin proves useful. It is a low-tech interruption placed directly in your way, unlike a notification that can be dismissed with a swipe.

From a technical point of view, the clothespin has three jobs. First, it secures a thin layer of insulation - fabric, an old sock or a small piece of foam - against the metal, reducing direct wind exposure that speeds up freezing. Second, it identifies the exact point requiring attention, so there is no need to remember a mental checklist. Third, it establishes a habit. Once the peg has been clipped on during the first cold snap, your brain begins to link “pin visible = action needed”. That link is what can protect pipes when temperatures fall at 2 a.m. and you are half asleep looking at a weather warning.

Using the clothespin trick at home without becoming the odd neighbour

Begin by walking around the house on a cold afternoon, coffee in hand, and checking every location where water meets the outdoors. Look at outside taps, garage sinks and basement pipes running along external walls. These are the places for small winter markers. One clothespin for each “risk zone” is sufficient. Attach it to a strip of fabric or an old tea towel wrapped snugly, but not tightly enough to crush, around the pipe.

Next, decide on your routine. Many people connect it to their evening forecast check: if the app predicts overnight temperatures near freezing, the clothespin becomes the cue. Shut the internal isolation valve for that line, open the outside tap, let the water drain and leave the tap slightly open so any remaining water can expand without building pressure. Leave the fabric and clothespin in place both as a wind barrier and as an obvious prompt to restore everything the following morning if necessary.

Most households do not require an elaborate winter plumbing strategy. What they need is a straightforward routine they will genuinely keep up. This is where self-awareness and consideration for others help. If you know you are forgetful, put a second peg indoors, perhaps beside the light switch or door handle used at night. If children or housemates live with you, explain the approach once and keep it relaxed. No lectures or charts are required. One Minnesota family jokes that the “wooden soldier” is on duty whenever the clothespin is attached. The children quickly understood that no soldier on a freezing night meant potential trouble.

Several familiar errors can undermine even the best clothespin plan. For instance, wrapping a wet rag around a pipe may trap moisture and encourage ice to form sooner. Using tape pulled so tightly that it bites into plastic pipes is also unwise. Depending solely on a clothespin without draining or opening taps is like wearing flip-flops during a snowstorm and calling them “winter gear”. Let’s be honest: nobody actually does all of this every day, even when prevention guides recommend it.

“The clothespin is not a magical shield,” laughs Mark, a plumber from Milwaukee. “It’s a bookmark in your life. It marks the page where you have to act before the cold writes the rest of the story for you.”

For a quick reminder of measures that genuinely help when temperatures plunge, use this short checklist alongside the clothespin trick:

• Attach a clothespin to every exposed or partly exposed pipe section before the first serious frost.
• Cover those areas with dry fabric or light foam, gently held by the peg, to create an initial barrier against wind.
• Treat the pegs as visible prompts to shut indoor isolation valves and drain outside lines on freezing nights.
• If your plumbing permits it, leave a very slight trickle flowing in the coldest room when a severe freeze is forecast.

What this small trick says about living through winter

On a frosty morning, when neighbours emerge in heavy coats, it is often clear who slept soundly and who spent the night aiming a hairdryer beneath the sink. One person heads to the car with coffee in hand, perhaps glancing at an unassuming clothespin attached to a pipe. Another notices a growing damp patch on the ceiling and begins the first of many phone calls.

We tend to favour high-tech answers for nearly everything: smart thermostats, connected sensors and automated alerts. Yet the small act that prevents a wall from collapsing may still involve a piece of wood costing pennies and a minute of attention. In one sense, the clothespin concerns more than plumbing. It reflects how we choose to remember the weak points in our lives - the areas that fail when pressure builds while we are not paying attention.

On a quiet street after a hard freeze, envy and curiosity are easy to sense. Why is their water still running when mine has stopped? Why did their winter remain manageable while mine became an emergency? A tiny peg on a pipe can start chats over the fence, shared advice in a group message and even small routines that children may take into their own homes one day. On a cold night, a wooden clip and a strip of fabric can mean the difference between a hot shower and a sodden carpet. Details like that travel quickly from one neighbour to another.