EXTREME WEATHER IDEAS

Here are some ideas on how to thaw out frozen water pipes, shared from Houselogic.com.

How To Thaw Frozen Pipes

It can get epically cold in Texas and both businesses and homeowners experience frozen pipes! Freezing pipes are quite common when not properly insulated and exposed.

While there are a few ways to prevent freezing pipes, what do you do once they’ve already been frozen? You notice that your water pressure has slowed - the first indication your plumbing may be starting to freeze. Time is of the essence, but do not rush heating up the pipes or they may burst. You must approach defrosting your plumbing carefully to make sure you don’t lead cause them to burst.

Steps To Thaw Your Frozen Pipes

Follow these steps immediately to unfreeze your plumbing:

Shut Off Your Water!!!!

Once your pipes freeze they could burst at any moment. Make sure when they do burst there is not a constant stream of water flowing into your home and damaging it. Turning off your water can minimize the damage from a burst water pipe.

Gather The Items You Will Need

• Heat Source: Get a space heater, hairdryer, or heat lamp. A torch or open flame is not recommended because it can cause damage to your plumbing. A space heater is great for ongoing heat after the applied heat from the hairdryer or heat lamp is used.
• Extension Cord: Depending on where the frozen pipes are located you will need an extension cord to reach the problem area.
• Cookie Sheet: Placing a cookie sheet behind the hairdryer can make the heat exposure more even and increase the effectiveness of the heating applications.
• Other Heat Source Option: If you do not have any of the above heat sources available, try to get some water and heat it up. Using hot towels you can slowly melt your pipes. (The following steps will not be focused on using hot towels to melt the ice in your pipes, but the concept is similar).

Open Your Faucet

As you are melting your frozen pipes, you want to minimize pressure buildup within your plumbing as much as possible. Turning your kitchen faucet on to allow the water to flow slowly will help lower the water pressure.

Find Out Where Your Pipes Are Frozen

This might be the most difficult part. Finding where your pipes have frozen will require you to follow your plumbing and feeling the pipes. Do not hit or cause an impact on the pipes because this can encourage them to burst.

Start Thawing Your Frozen Pipe

Starting heating the end of the pipe that is closest to your faucet (where the water will be draining from). This will allow the water to drain and not cause a situation where your pipes burst.

Heating Exposed Pipes: Place the cookie sheet behind the area you will be focusing on and continually move the hairdryer or heat lamp back and forth. As you do this and are able to melt the ice in the pipe move along the pipe to get the entire frozen area.

Heating Pipes That Are Not Accessible: These are a bit more difficult. Essentially you will have to heat the area near the pipes. Do not set the space heater extremely close to the wall or else you will have a house fire (the pipes won’t be frozen anymore, but you won’t have a kitchen sink either). Raise the heat of the whole house to help with the process.

Increase Your Building’s Heat

As a precaution, increase the thermostat’s temperature once you have melted the ice in your pipes. This will keep you from having to thaw out your pipe again. At this point, you can turn your water on again.

Slow Drip Your Water

By having your sink slowly drip water it will keep the water moving and help with preventing freezing pipes. If the cabinets or area under your sink are cold, leave the cabinet doors open so warm air can reach those pipes.

Take A Break!

Sit back and relax in your warm home! You put the time in and worked hard to avoid having a pipe burst in your home. The time you spent doing that saved a large sum of money as well as a large amount of time repairing water damage and replacing your plumbing!

What If My Pipes Had Burst?

If your pipes burst from them freezing you should shut off the water immediately. Next, contact a plumber and call your insurance company. If you don’t know if your home insurance has you covered for frozen and burst pipes contact Best Southwest Insurance for a free insurance quote. We can make sure you are covered for what the weather throws at you.

Below is some additional information about pipes freezing. Learn about them and be prepared for them in the future!

Why Do Pipes Burst When They Freeze?

Water, when frozen expands. If water expands inside of a fixed space such as piping, it can expand beyond the size of the pipe. This leads to the pipe breaking from the expanding ice. The combination of increased pressure and water pressure leads the pipe to burst.

Water Damage In Your Home

Water damage from bursting pipes is a common home owners insurance claim. The average claim cost of water damage is $5,000, but can easily exceed that sum. Drying and repairs to plumbing, concrete, wall structure, flooring, and wiring are initial focus. Then there is often damage to HVAC, electronics, furniture, applicances, rugs, and clothing.   

Get Homeowners Insurance

Don’t get caught without homeowners insurance or home insurance that can protect your house from water damage caused by burst pipes. If your pipes have burst, call your home insurance agent. After that, call us for a free home insurance quote. We are located in Dallas County and serve TX.