The Associated Press

When temperatures drop, you want your hot water fast, for showers in particular. What you get instead is ice-cold water - sometimes for quite a while.

To shorten the wait and save a few bucks as well, check the pipes that carry water from the heater to your tap. Usually they snake around your home, often through frigid crawl spaces where normal conduction steals the warmth and drives utility bills sky-high.

Insulate with a prefabricated neoprene pipe wrap found in hardware stores and home centers. It comes in standard sizes for various pipe widths and has a peel-and-stick seam for a snug fit.