5 Tips to Thaw Frozen Water Pipes in Winter

5 Tips to Thaw Frozen Water Pipes in Winter

In those places where temperature falls frequently below freezing point, frozen pipe repair becomes a regular thing. Every year, thousands of homeowners call a plumber company to deal with their frozen water pipes. A frozen pipe leads to limited access to water for not just drinking but for routine cooking as well as washing and other daily chore activities.

Getting this problem resolved by a professional plumbing company is always advised, however, if you want some tips to thaw your frozen water pipes on the go, read the points given below.

1. Make sure that your pipe hasn't cracked due to freezing. Freezing of water leads to its expansion which actually leads to cracks in the pipe. If your pipe has cracked, it is best to get it replaced/repaired from a plumber company. Generally, pipes that are available nowadays don't crack but simply get blocked.

2. Once you know that your pipe does not have any crack or crevice, turn-off the water running in the pipe. While those living in old houses might need to shut their main water supply, in newly built houses, people can simply isolate the frozen pipe from the rest of the water system with a shut-off valve.

3. Now you should open up all the faucets that are connected along the frozen pipe. This can help you to get rid of the icy cold water that's trapped inside the pipe. Once the pressure has sublimed inside the pipe and is somewhat minimized, allow the thawed water to simply make come out from the pipe.

4. To thaw the core of the pipe, most plumber companies advise to wrap a towel around the pipe and pour hot water. This will give warmth to the pipe and melt the hard chunks of ice. One can also make use of a handheld dryer to blow warm air onto the part of the pipe that's frozen in order to thaw it.

5. To thaw the remaining part of a frozen water pipe, one can also place a small room heater just next to the pipe, switch it on and leave it like this for at least an hour. This will provide sufficient amount of heat to thaw the most frozen parts of pipe. However, stay a bit alert while you use the room heater.

Professional plumbers also assert the importance of using electric pipe heating tapes to thaw frozen water pipes. People also tend to use plumbing torches for this purpose, but in case of ABS and PVC pipes, they hardly work. If nothing proves to be useful, contact for frozen pipe repair from a leading plumber company.




By Silverio Santos
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8840942