Winter pipe checklist: what to know before you call

How early it can come

One year in ten, the Sea-Tac station freezes by October 28, and the Tacoma station by October 17. These tables count a night below 32.5°F, and their records stop in 2016, so read them as a rough guide. (WRCC) (WRCC)

Now, before it freezes

1. Find your main shutoff and make sure it turns. Seattle Public Utilities and Tacoma Public Utilities both put this on their lists. (SPU) (TPU)
2. Unhook and drain garden hoses, drain the outside faucets, wrap exposed pipes and winterize the sprinklers. (TPU) SPU adds closing the foundation vents. (SPU)
3. Pick a thermostat floor for nights you are away. SPU says no lower than 55 degrees; the state Insurance Commissioner says keep the house above 60. (SPU) (OIC)
4. Save two plumbers' numbers, and look both up on L&I Verify. The business needs a plumbing contractor license, and whoever works on your pipes needs an L&I plumbing certificate and photo ID on them. (RCW 18.106.020) (chapter 18.106 RCW)
5. Ask each one what an after-hours call adds, before you need one.
6. Find out who issues plumbing permits where you live. In Seattle and unincorporated King County it is Public Health, not the city or county building office. (Public Health)

On the coldest nights

Open the cabinet doors under sinks on outside walls. In hard cold, let one indoor tap drip cold water; SPU suggests the one farthest from the front door. Never thaw a pipe with a torch, a kerosene or propane heater, or any open flame. (SPU)

If a pipe splits

Close the main shutoff first. If an SPU customer can't close it, SPU will send a crew to shut the water off at the meter, for a fee; the number is on its frozen-pipes page. (SPU)

• Tacoma and Pierce County: stopping a leak or repairing a leaking pipe, valve or fixture needs no permit, as long as nothing is replaced or rearranged. If a concealed pipe has to be replaced, that is new work and needs one. (Tacoma) (Pierce County)
• Tacoma emergency replacements: the permit application can wait until the next working business day. (Tacoma)
• Olympia: every plumbing job except minor repair needs a permit, and emergency work needs an application the next business day. (Olympia)
• Unincorporated Pierce County: a plumbing permit costs $58.00 to issue in 2026. Fees for repairing natural hazard damage are waived or deferred only after a Governor's emergency declaration and an executive order. (PCC 17C.10.070, read Oct 18, 2026)
• Seattle and unincorporated King County: a 2026 plumbing permit is $137 plus $27 per fixture, and an inspection outside regular hours is $410 an hour. (Public Health 2026 fees, read Oct 18, 2026)

Doing it yourself

In Seattle and King County, you may do plumbing on your own home, with unpaid help from friends or relatives. Anyone you pay must be a certified plumber working for, or as, a registered contractor. (Public Health)

Next

If water is coming through the ceiling now, go to burst pipe: what to do. For after-hours calls, see how to compare after-hours plumber quotes. For water heater and fixture permits, see the permit guide.