You generally want a slow but steady drip—enough to keep water moving, but not so much that you’re wasting gallons.

Quick Scoop

For most homes, a good target is:

  • About one drop every 1–3 seconds from each faucet you’re protecting.
  • Visually, that’s a light trickle , just before it turns into a thin, continuous stream.

This level of flow:

  • Keeps water moving in the pipes so it’s harder for them to freeze.
  • Relieves pressure inside the line so, even if ice forms, the pipe is less likely to burst.
  • Uses relatively little water—often estimated at under a dollar a month in many situations if used only during freezes.

If it’s extremely cold (near 0°F or below) or your home is older or poorly insulated, you can bump that up slightly toward a very thin stream rather than single drops, just for extra safety.

Simple rule of thumb

  • Normal hard freeze (around 20°F or a bit lower):
    → Aim for one drip every few seconds or a very slight trickle.
  • Extreme cold (close to 0°F or below, strong wind, known problem pipes):
    → Turn it up to a small, continuous thread of water , but still on the low side—nowhere near “half on.”

When to start and stop the drip

  • Start dripping when the forecast calls for below about 20°F for several hours , or when you know your home’s pipes freeze easily.
  • Keep dripping as long as temps stay below freezing , especially overnight.
  • You can shut it off once temperatures are reliably above freezing and you’ve checked that water is flowing normally from the faucets.

Quick visual test at the sink

Stand at the faucet and adjust until:

  • You can count distinct drops , not a strong stream.
  • But the drops are frequent enough that the water doesn’t fully stop between them—think: “just about to become a stream, but not quite.”

If you tell me:

  • How cold it’s getting (roughly lowest °F or °C),
  • Whether your pipes are on exterior walls or in an unheated crawlspace,
  • And how old your house is,

I can tailor that drip rate a bit more closely to your situation. Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.