Temperatures below freezing can cause issues with your home’s plumbing. Frozen pipes occur frequently during colder months, stopping the flow of water in your home and making everyday activities more difficult.
Knowing how to fix frozen pipes is about more than just getting back to cooking, cleaning, and bathing easily. Burst pipes can flood your home and cause major structural damage. Therefore, knowing the signs of frozen pipes can save you from expensive repairs.
In most cases, qualified experts who offer professional plumbing services are the only ones who should perform major maintenance or repair frozen pipes. Plumbers from Eanes Heating & Air Conditioning can fix and prevent frozen pipes at a moment’s notice to protect your home. Call to resolve frozen pipes today.
Three Methods To Fix Frozen Water Pipes in Your Home
Learning how to fix frozen pipes doesn’t necessarily mean becoming a plumbing expert overnight. There are some simple fixes you can do to keep your pipes from freezing and making everyday activities harder. Read below about these three simple fixes for frozen pipes in your home.
1. Turn On All Faucets
If temperatures dip below freezing, the first thing you can do to fix or prevent frozen pipes is to turn on all your faucets. This keeps the water moving before it has a chance to freeze. Allow your sink, shower, and bath to run through the night when you sleep so you can bathe in the morning without worrying about frozen pipes.
2. Apply Heat to the Affected Pipe(s)
You can defrost exposed pipes in your home by applying a heat source. Try wrapping an electronic heating pad around them, heating the pipes with a blow dryer, adding a space heater to the area, or putting a soaking hot towel on your pipes. Remember never to use an open flame on your pipes, as this could be hazardous for your safety and damage your home.
3. Keep Water Trickling
Even a trickle of water could be enough to prevent frozen pipes within your home. Homeowners who worry about the costs of running all their faucets throughout the evening can set their water fixtures to a small trickle. This small amount of running water may be enough to avoid a frozen pipe.
Safety Tips
While learning how to fix frozen water pipes, understanding safe practices helps avoid dangerous situations and major damage to your home. Especially if you go the route of trying to warm your water pipes, knowing how to do this correctly can ensure your safety.
The following are some important tips to remember while warming your pipes:
- Never use an open flame like a blowtorch, kerosene or propane heater, or charcoal stove.
- Watch for leaks or water sources if you use any electrically powered warming device, such as a heating pad or blow dryer.
- Check for leaks after your pipes thaw to avoid water damage.
- Only attempt to thaw your pipes if it feels safe.
With these tips, you can address many frozen pipe issues without the threat of a major home disaster.
How To Prevent Frozen Pipes in the Future
After dealing with frozen pipes all winter, you’re likely tired of this issue impacting your home. Thankfully, the following steps can help you avoid the frustrations of frozen pipes in future winters.
1. Don’t Forget About Outdoor Maintenance
Preparing your outdoor elements is just as important as monitoring your indoor elements when avoiding frozen pipes. Especially for homes with a pool, hose, or other water features, don’t forget to drain pools, fountains, and sprinkler systems and disconnect hoses after completing seasonal maintenance.
Failing to eliminate standing water from outdoors could cause a burst in the outdoor plumbing that negatively impacts indoor systems. Furthermore, shutting off exterior hose connection valves prevents ice damming that could lead to various issues throughout the cold season.
2. Insulate Your Pipes
Insulation keeps homes at a consistent temperature and improves heat retention. While you finish disconnecting and draining your outdoor water features, consider insulating outdoor and indoor pipe systems.
Most big-box stores sell prefabricated insulation to keep pipes above 32º the entire winter. While it might require the help of professionals, adding insulation to entire walls near major pipe networks can prevent the worst home damage from frozen and burst pipes. Consider hiring qualified contractors to do the job right, as it can be messy if you don’t know what you’re doing.
3. Ensure Adequate Heat Flow Throughout the House
Ensuring adequate heat flow throughout your home during winter can keep your water flowing and pipes thawed. Adding space heaters to different parts of your property, especially in basement areas with exposed pipes, might be adequate to avoid frozen pipes. Address any areas in your home with drafts and call maintenance professionals as needed.
4. Schedule Regular Plumbing Inspections and Maintenance
Like all home systems, properly maintaining your plumbing allows you to get to know your property’s inner workings while avoiding issues like frozen pipes. Hire qualified plumbing experts for seasonal maintenance and repairs to address problems before the cold season begins. Fixing leaks, tightening connections, and adding insulation can all prevent a major disaster in your home when temperatures dip below freezing.
5. Maintain a Consistent Home Temperature
Ensuring a consistent temperature throughout your property during winter can help you avoid frozen pipe issues. Ensure your home’s temperature never goes lower than 55º throughout the season.
If you decide to go on vacation or leave for extended periods, do not turn off your heating system. Doing so could allow frozen or burst pipes to occur while you’re not there to handle the issue.
Schedule Plumbing Maintenance With Eanes
Why learn how to fix frozen pipes when qualified professionals can handle the job for you? The experts at Eanes Heating & Air Conditioning provide top-rated plumbing, HVAC, and water heater services, giving you the peace of mind that the well-being of your home and everyone in it will be safe. Call 336-361-2937 and schedule plumbing experts to resolve frozen pipes today.