Ever wonder why the colder it gets outside, the longer it takes hot water to get to your tap? When temperatures drop, you want hot water fast for showers, washing hands and doing dishes. But what you get instead is the ice-cold variety. To shorten the wait and save a few bucks to boot, check the pipes that carry water from the heater to your tap. Usually they snake around your home, often through ice-cold crawl spaces where normal conduction steals the warmth of your heater water and drives utility bills sky-high. Insulate with a pre-fabricated neoprene pipe wrap found in hardware stores and home centers. It comes in standard sizes for various pipe widths. It even has a peel-and-stick seam for a snug fit. And that's the On The House tip for today.