My cousin called me last year and was once again grumbling about her pipes actually freezing.
I told her she should use heat tape around the pipes and put insulation around them, but she didn’t listen.
She didn’t suppose they made insulation for water pipes. My partner and I used cheap pool noodles. My associate and I usually cut them up the side and they fit perfectly around hot water pipes, and were excellent insulation. Heat tapes were cheap and lasted for years, and when she said the water pipes were in the basement, I could not actually think of any reason for them to freeze, unless the oil furnace broke or something. There was enough residual heat coming off the oil furnace, that the basement shouldn’t go below freezing levels for temperatures. She said she didn’t care how they froze, but she wanted someone who could thaw them for her. My associate and I were the same age as she, and my friend and I weren’t going into her basement and doing the work. I told her to call a plumber or the Heating, Ventilation & A/C dealer. When she said she didn’t want to put that much money out, I told her to suffer and figure out how to do the job herself. My associate and I didn’t mind helping when someone had a serious problem, however my friend and I weren’t going to do the thawing and repairs for her. I didn’t hear anything else from her for almost a month. She called to tell her the oil furnace was broken, and her pipes froze again. Once again I asked about heat tapes, and she hemmed and hawed. I told her to call the Heating, Ventilation & A/C device dealer and see if someone was available to do an emergency repair.