What to Do About Frozen Pipes

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What to Do About Frozen Pipes
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• With winter in full swing, staying warm and cozy
  is the top priority, especially during winter
  storms and below freezing temperatures. With the
  frigid temperatures, pipes can easily freeze, it
  difficult to stay warm and carry out everyday
  tasks. If youre experiencing colder than normal
  temperatures, its important to keep an eye on
  your pipes to help avoid costly repairs.

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• Pipes Most Vulnerable to Freezing
• Not all pipes in your home are equally
  susceptible to freezing as others. The pipes in
  your home that are exposed to outdoor, freezing
  temperatures are most vulnerable to freezing. By
  draining these pipes, thoroughly insulating them,
  and storing hoses inside will help decrease the
  chances of freezing

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• Nonetheless, keeping an eye on these pipes will
  help reduce the changes of freezing
• Outdoor hose bibs
• Pool supply lines
• Sprinkler lines
• Pipes in unheated areas attic, garage,
  basement, crawlspaces
• Pipes along an exterior wall

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• How to Tell if You Have Frozen Pipes
• The easiest way to tell if you have frozen pipes
  is if you have no water supply coming out of your
  sink or if the water pressure from the water
  supply line is slowly trickling out. If your
  water supply is slowly trickling out but still
  arent sure if your pipes are frozen, look out
  for these signs

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• Frost on the outside of exposed pipes
• Low temperatures for long periods of
• time the longer there are below freezing
  temperatures (32 degrees), the chances of your
  pipes freezing increases

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• What to Do About Frozen Pipes
• If you notice frozen pipes in your home, its
  important to act fast. The faster your frozen
  pipes are thawed, the less damage there will be.
  While waiting for your local plumber, give these
  thawing tips a try

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• Keep your heat turned up in your home (especially
  when the temperatures are hitting 10 degrees and
  lower). Some people like it cooler at night and
  turn down their heat, but it gets even colder in
  the night and this is when the unimaginable
  happens with frozen and burst pipes.

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• Open up cabinets in your home under sinks to
  allow for the warm heated air to circulate the
  pipes under sinks.
• Prevention Tip You can also turn on a trickle of
  warmer water through your pipes to help prevent
  them freezing. Some people do this at night or
  when temperatures are brutal.

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• Feel free to add a space heater in troublesome
  areas of your home like the basement or where a
  fixture seems to be just trickling out water.
• If you have an isolated frozen line, for example
  kitchen sink, you could attempt to use a hair dry
  and blow hot air on the pipe.

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• Never use a direct heat source such as a torch or
  flame to try heating pipes, especially in walls.
  People have attempted this and have burnt down
  their homes using this type of method.
• If you notice frozen pipes in your home, give
  Plumbing 911 a call today at [phone].