Frozen pipes are one of the most preventable — and most expensive — plumbing emergencies Wheaton homeowners face every winter. When water inside a pipe freezes, it expands and can crack or burst the pipe entirely, leading to flooding, structural damage, and repair bills that can easily reach $5,000 or more.
If you’ve lived in Wheaton for more than one winter, you already know what real cold feels like. We’re talking about January wind chills dropping to -20°F, temperatures that stay below zero for days, and that particular kind of biting cold that seeps through every gap in your 1970s ranch or four gorgeous Victorian two-story on one of those tree-lined streets off downtown. Wheaton’s older housing stock is beautiful, but a lot of those homes have pipes running through uninsulated crawl spaces, exterior walls, and garages that were never built with brutal cold in mind. That’s exactly why frozen pipes are so common here — and why a little prep work in October and November can save you a massive headache in January.