In case you don’t want to read all the way, the short answer is: you have to keep them warmer!
Avoiding Frozen Pipes
Why is it Bad When Pipes Freeze?
Water expands when it is frozen and turns to ice. When water freezes inside pipes, it is no different. The water expands, and when it expands enough, pipes burst. That causes mayhem like a flooded home, or a closed business.
Frozen pipes are nothing to mess around with. If you turn on a faucet in your home and no water comes out during the winter, give us a call immediately. There is a good chance you have frozen water in a pipe, and you do not want it to burst the pipe.
Steps to Take to Keep Your Pipes from Freezing
1. Insulate the pipes. This can be done in a variety of ways, but is easiest with pipe insulating foam.
2. If you know that it is going to be particularly cold, allow for a little water to run from your faucet. This sounds wasteful, but it is much less wasteful than pipes bursting (if you want to see the damage it can cause, just Google image search frozen pipes).
3. Keep the cabinet doors underneath your sinks open in order to let in the heat.
4. There are products that help to monitor the temperature of the water in your pipes. Call your local hardware store, or give the expert plumbers at Done Plumbing, Heating, Cooling, and Electric a call. We are happy to come help!
If Your Pipes Are Already Frozen…
A broken pipe due to freezing can create massive damages to your home. If your water is no longer running, and the outside temperature is below freezing, there is large chance that your pipes are already frozen.
If you can locate where exactly the pipes are frozen, unthaw them with a small space heater or blowdryer. Be sure to take notice if the pipes have already burst.
If you can see the pipes are burst, do not unthaw the pipes yet! Unthawing them will flood the room you are in! Give us a call immediately!
