Thank Your Plumbers — For Real!

Thank Your Plumbers — For Real!

How To Deal With Frozen Pipes

by Bill Turner

Many homeowners dread winter and cold seasons due to plumbing pipes freezing. You'll just wake up one morning and find no water in your faucets. That's because the water in your lines has already frozen. So, how do you deal with such situations? Well, read on to find out.

How Do You Know the Pipes Are Frozen?

Well, the fact there is no water flowing from the pipes is a huge red flag. However, you shouldn't conclude that your pipes are frozen until you check for these signs:

  • There is frost on the pipes
  • The pipe has extreme cold spots
  • Your toilet won't refill
  • There is a solid sound once you tap the pipes with a tool

If these signs are there, you should start preparing to unfreeze or thaw the pipes.

Steps to Unfreeze Your Water Pipes

Everyone has their take when it comes to thawing frozen pipes. Some will prefer to take the DIY route, while others will hire plumber services to deal with the frozen pipes. You can use either of these techniques.

Let the Water Run

Before you try other methods, you should allow water to run. So, open the faucets or valves and allow the water to trickle. There is a chance the running water will thaw the ice clogging your pipes.

Use Hot Towels

You can use hot towels if allowing the water to run doesn't cut it. You'll first need to identify the affected pipe and spots. Once you do so, boil water and let the towel soak in the water. Now wrap the wet towel on the pipe and allow it to sit there for a few minutes. You can repeat the process until the ice in the pipe melts.

Use a Hairdryer

Some people will opt to use a hair dryer, especially when dealing with an exposed pipe. This method is simple as you'll just need to direct the heat from your hairdryer to the affected spots. The ice should melt within a few minutes.

Change Your Thermostat Settings

Your plumbing pipes are probably freezing because your space isn't warm enough. As such, you should turn up the thermostat so that your home's furnace produces enough heat to keep the pipes thawed.

Use a Heat Lamp

An infrared heat lamp can also do the trick if the frozen pipe is tucked inside a wall. You just need to aim the heat lamp at the wall and give it time. The heat will eventually penetrate through the drywall and reach the frozen pipe. 

If all these tricks fail, you'll have to call plumber services to assist you. For more information on plumbing, contact a professional near you.


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Thank Your Plumbers — For Real!

When you have a plumber come work on your home, we hope you thank them. Really, you should be thanking any contractor who works on your home, but we are a little partial to plumbers and happen to think they deserve a little more recognition. After all, the stuff inside the pipes they work on doesn't usually smell very good. And even though they wear gloves, they have to get pretty close to it! If you would like to learn a little more about plumbers, then we invite you to read this blog. After learning the basics, you'll really want to thank your plumbers!

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