i'm using a hairdryer to unfreeze ny water pipes and they are still frozen, been using it for about 3 hours

Answer 1

First you need to open ALL the faucets in your house. Water lines expand when heat is applied that Can cause the to burst. After you have opened all fixtures. Apply heat to the lines if you want to this MAY help but may not be enough turn the heat UP in your home and open all the cabinets allowing warm air to get to them. After the water does come on, find out which part is not protected, a properly sealed home should not freeze. Please feel free to ask for any other advise on this problem

Answer 2

Feel the pipe for the coldest spot to find the frozen section if you need to, and heat there. It will probably be wherever the pipes are exposed to the coldest area - by a window, touching the ground, etc. Also, open a faucet someplace after that point. Once a little water starts getting past the frozen point, the water following that will be warmer, and will thaw the ice quickly.

If you can do so SAFELY, a light bulb left on where the pipe tends to freeze can provide enough heat to keep the pipes thawed. In extreme cases, I've heard of people who leave the water running at a very slow trickle to keep the pipes thawed. It wastes a lot of water, though. If you're on a city water system, the cost might be horrendous.

Also, go to any hardware or home improvement center, and look for the pipe insulation wraps. These are usually foam plastic sleeves that slip on over the pipe, and help protect them. They will help a lot.

Answer 3

After living on the Minnesota/Canadian boarder most of my life I'm very familiar with frozen water pipes.
Your doing what I've done many times but remember, there's only one small spot that's probably frozen, not the whole pipe unless it was left unattended for days in subzero temperatures. Then you have a real problem.
Turn one spigot on and work your way back from there. Don't try to cover the whole pipe at once, it doesn't work that way. Then get a good heat tape and, wrap the pipe. The guy from Nobles Plumbing has a good idea. DO NOT USE A TORCH LIKE SOME SUGGESTED, houses burned down this way.

Answer 4

If you have copper or a metal pipe use a propane torch. If you have PVC you will just have to keep at it. You can get a heat gun like they use for removing paint off furniture, but with plastic it would melt the pipe. Again with metal if you have a friend with a portable welder you can hook that to the pipes. You almost need one with a 100% duty cycle though. Another thing if they froze they may have a break in them. You had better buy some heat tape, it looks like the cold weather is going to stick around for a few days. You can let the water run slowly or drip too so that it will not freeze, but that can cost you more than heat tape.

Answer 5

That is not much heat so it might not even work. But if you are sticking with that make sure you open the faucet on the frozen pipe and then start at the faucet end of the pipe with your defrosting. You don't want to get steam inside that will split the pipe open.

Answer 6

Don't use ur hairdryer- it'll just waste electricity, even if it did it wouldn't thaw the whole pipe system. better use lagging (insulation wrapped around pipes) for next time- hardware shops can advise you on this. By the way, watch out for leaks when the pipes do thaw. They can crack (because freezing water expands), and then leak when the ice thaws to water. **Find out where your stopcock is, just in case** (main tap that turns off your water supply)

Answer 7

Ahh..the fun of water pipes...I also have used the hair dryer...I found that using a torch warms them faster and then I put a small electric heater in the basement to keep it warm and that seemed to do the trick for me...If it continues to be a problem I would suggest trying to insulate the pipes themselves...Good Luck :o)

Answer 8

Heat tape is the way to go. Wrap your pipes with it and when you know it is going to be a cold night plug them in. Or if it is cold every night just hook them up on timer. Would also work good to unthaw the frozen pipes you have now.