很多人搬到美國、特別是有冬天下雪的州，常常會聽到一句話：「小心冬天水管會凍爆。」 但到底什麼情況會爆？真的會嚴重到要賠好多錢嗎？今天這一篇，只是分享我自己在紐約房子空著的那兩個冬天，我是怎麼「用土法煉鋼」讓水管平安度過。
❄️ 背景：房子空著、天又冷，我又想省錢
那個時候，我剛打完官司，請房客搬走，房子變成空屋。地點在紐約，冬天真的很冷、會下雪、會結冰。因為房子沒人住，我心裡在想：
- 沒人住還一直開暖氣，電費／瓦斯費很心痛。
- 但如果完全不開暖氣，水管真的凍爆了，維修費更可怕。
在「不想繼續燒錢」跟「又怕水管爆掉」之間，我最後選擇了一個折衷方式：讓水管裡幾乎沒有水可以凍。
🚰 我實際做了什麼？（不是教科書，是我的土法經驗）
先說明，這不是專業水電工的做法，只是我當時能做、也比較安心的方式：
- 先關掉從 City 進來的「總水閥」（main water valve）。
就是在房子裡面，水從外面進來的那個總開關，先把它關掉，讓新的水不再進入室內水管。 - 打開家裡所有的水龍頭。
廚房、浴室、洗手台、浴缸、甚至戶外水龍頭，只要我找得到的，我全部打開。目的就是：讓水管裡的水盡量流出來。 - 讓水龍頭這樣開著一兩天。
讓剩下的水慢慢滴、慢慢流，盡量排空。房子雖然沒暖氣，但水越少、越不容易凍成一整條冰。 - 之後，我沒有把水龍頭「完全關死」，而是留一點點縫。
不是讓水一直大流，而是讓管線裡有一點空氣可以移動。我的想法很簡單：如果真的還有一點殘留的水，至少不會整條悶在管子裡結成一整塊冰。
就這樣，我的房子在沒有開暖氣的情況下，連續撐過了兩個冬天，水管沒有爆掉。
💭 這是我的經驗，不是標準答案
寫這一篇，不是要大家照抄，而是想給新移民一個真實的參考：
- 在美國某些州，冬天真的會冷到水管凍爆，維修費非常高。
- 如果你有空屋要過冬，記得先問問：房東、管理公司、HOA 或當地水電工，看看有沒有更適合你那個州的作法。
- 有些人會選擇把暖氣設定在很低的溫度（例如 50°F 左右），讓室內不會冷到結冰；有些人會放防凍液在特定排水系統，方式很多。
這只是我當年在紐約，為了省錢又不想水管爆掉的「真實故事」。希望可以讓你對「冬天水管防凍」多一點概念，不會只停留在「聽說會爆」這種模糊恐懼。
如果你剛好也是新移民、也是第一次面對冬天、或者家裡有空屋要過冬，這篇分享如果有讓你多想一點、問一個問題、少踩一個雷，那就很值得了。🙂
Many new immigrants hear this warning in cold states: “Be careful, your pipes might freeze and burst in winter.” But when does that actually happen? And how bad can it be? In this post, I’m simply sharing what I personally did when my house in New York sat empty through two winters—and how I tried to keep the pipes from freezing without running the heater.
❄️ Background: Empty house, cold winter, and I wanted to save money
At that time, I had just gone through an eviction case. The tenant finally moved out, and the house became vacant. It was in New York, where winters are truly cold, snowy, and icy. Because no one was living there, I struggled with this:
- Keeping the heater on all winter for an empty house felt like burning money.
- But if I turned the heat completely off and the pipes froze and burst, the repair cost could be much worse.
Caught between “I don’t want to keep paying for heat” and “I don’t want a huge plumbing disaster,” I decided on a simple idea: try to remove as much water from the pipes as possible so there’s less to freeze.
🚰 What I actually did (not textbook, just my real-life approach)
This is not professional plumbing advice—just what I did with the knowledge and tools I had:
- First, I shut off the main water valve from the city.
Inside the house, I located the main valve where water from the city enters the home and turned it off, so no new water would flow into the pipes. - Then, I opened every faucet in the house.
Kitchen sink, bathroom sinks, bathtub, shower, even outdoor faucets—any faucet I could find, I opened it, to let the water drain out of the lines. - I left the faucets open for a day or two.
The idea was to let the remaining water slowly drip out, so the pipes would be as empty as possible, even though there was no heat running. - After that, I did not fully close the faucets—I left them slightly open.
Not enough for water to keep running, but just enough that there was a bit of air movement. My simple logic was: if there was still a little water left, at least it wouldn’t be tightly trapped in a sealed pipe and freeze into a solid block.
With this setup, my house went through two winters without the heater on, and the pipes did not burst.
💭 This is my story, not a one-size-fits-all solution
I’m not sharing this as “the correct way” to winterize a home, but as a real-life experience for other immigrants to think about:
- In many U.S. states, winter can be cold enough to freeze and burst pipes, and repairs can be very expensive.
- If you have a vacant home in winter, it’s worth asking your landlord, property manager, HOA, or a local plumber what they recommend for your area.
- Some people choose to keep the thermostat set low (for example, around 50°F) so the house never gets cold enough to freeze. Others use special products in certain drains. There are many different approaches.
This is simply my true story from New York—trying to save money and still protect the house. I hope it gives you a clearer picture of what “frozen pipes” really mean, instead of just a vague warning that “something bad might happen in winter.”
If you’re a new immigrant, facing your first real winter, or leaving a home vacant during cold months, and this post helps you ask one more question, plan a little better, or avoid one costly mistake—that’s already more than enough for me. 🙂