Preventing & Thawing Frozen Pipes: What You Should Know
In normal situations, the only problems most homeowners face with their plumbing are a blockage from something in one of the pipes, like the toilet or kitchen sink. But in some areas of the country, winter brings a very real, very annoying threat to water pipes.
When it gets really cold, and it stays that way for an extended period of time, the water in your pipes may freeze which can affect one, some or ALL of the water access in your home
We’ve got some handy information for you to consider to deal with this problem, and these are things that ALL homeowners in this situation should know about for a more comfortable winter.
Thawing a Frozen Pipe
If it’s already happened to you, the most important thing is getting your water back, and you can do this quite easily provided you exercise care and patience. First, you need to track down where along your home plumbing the water has frozen.
Once you’ve located the area, you need an indirect source of heat that can warm the air. Heat lamps, space heaters, and hair dryers are all ideal.
Once you have your location and your tools, apply the heat to the area. Once again, INDIRECT heat is what you want, something direct, such as a blow torch is more likely to cut through your pipe or even cause a fire rather than melt ice.
You just want to warm the air in the area, not the pipe itself. Once the warm air hits the pipe, it transmits that heat to the ice inside. The ice itself only has to melt a little bit, and, once it has, turning on a tap and letting water pressure act naturally will break up the rest of the ice.
But now that you’ve got running water once more, how do you prevent this from happening again?
Track Down All External Plumbing
These are the most vulnerable areas. Find them and make a note of them so you know where you need to focus your efforts.
Run Your Hot Water Periodically
Hot water will warm pipes, but only when the water itself is hot. Take the time run your hot water from time to time to ensure pipes get some heat.
Close Garage/Attic Doors & Windows
These areas of a home usually have less insulation, so even a slightly ajar door or window can be enough to let in sufficient cold to freeze pipes in the area.
Use Heating Tape
Heating tape is basically just a long, electrical cord that emits heat throughout its length. Plugging it in and wrapping it on vulnerable areas will transmit mild heat to keep pipes warm during the winter.
Oliver's Plumbing, in Sun Prairie, WI can help in these instances, especially if the frozen pipe is in an out of the way, inaccessible space, or you just can’t seem to track down where the freeze has taken place. We can fix the problem, or if you’ve got the foresight, find potential problem areas and take steps to ensure it won’t happen at all. Call us today at (608) 834-8767 and let us take care of it for you!
