is there a way to unfreeze my water pipes?

Question

its -11 right now, it was colder last night. my pipes completly froze up this morning, nothing coming out of any tap or shower in the house. is there a way i can heat up my pipes and unfreeze them?

Answer 1

a blow dryer works

Answer 2

nipco, turbo,salamander, they all work fantasticly. PB and PEX pipes will take freeze and thaw with no damage. others and you should be on the lookout for broken fittings or split pipes as you unthaw. do not leave the heater unnatended!!

Often the reason only one of the supply lines will freeze is because the pipe is pressed down against the insulation in the belly of the home so hard that it has compressed the insulation to a point that its "R" value has been lowered considerably. particularily in Mobile homes elbow fittings are avoided and the pipe is made to bend around a corner. Another very common occurance is in the outside access water heater compartment often people have packed insulation around the water heater. This not only keeps out the cold but also sheilds the unit from the heat inside the mobile home unit. it is best to only place insulation directly behind the access door and leave the rest of the compartment onobstructed. DO NOT install heat tapes within the belly cavity only install it around pipes directly exposed to exterrior of the cavity under the home. check to see that there are no open holes in the belly that allow cold air into the cavity. Carefuly cover them with a peice of insulation and then a peice of heavy plastic or tarp. Spray adhesives are available that do a terrific job to secure the patch in place. If you can locate where the pipe is pressing hard against the insulation often it is possible to support the pipe higher in the belly cavity by tying it to the waste pipe or useing small peices of ridgid insulation placed between the fiberglass belly insulation and the pipe. raising it away from the cold and further up into the belly cavity. you can close the registers and run the furnace many times the heated air that is forced out of gaps or joints in the ductwork will fill the cavity and the pipes will thaw.

just a couple notes on letting the water drip or run a little. If there is not sufficient flow the heat in such a small amount of water will disipate befor it can make it to the pipes underground and it will freeze in the sewer pipe under the home that leads to the underground line. This is much more dificult and time consuming to solve than a supply freeze. it is not uncommon in the midwest for some companys to charge five and six hundred dollars to unthaw a sewer line when the supply line and the heat tape could have been replaced by the same contractor for 250.00. If you let the hot water run damage to the T/P valve can occour because the steady trickle of cold water at the thermostat in the bottom of the tank keeps the unit on even though the top of the tank can be far above scalding. pipes are rated for 180 degrees and I have seen the water temp go so high that the pipe has had small holes blown in it from water that was too hot. I had a customer severly burned from overheated water created by this very practice. If the water is freezing there is something wrong get it properly repaired.

Answer 3

Lots to consider here. Frozen pipes can get burst by the expansion of the ice. Copper and iron more so than pvc, cpvc, or abs. If it's an exposed crawlspace you might rent a salamander type heater and aim it at the general area; not too near combustibles. If the pipes are within walls it might help to boost the heat inside the house. Remember that when the ice thaws you could have leakage from the broken areas. Alas, prevention would have been the watchword here. Whatever you do, be attentive to fire hazards. Good luck.

Answer 4

Are you in a house or apt ???

I've heard you can take a hair blowdryer and SLOWLY and not too close, try to heat them back up.

Best is to prevent: wrap whatever pipes you can in a foam insulating material. This helps a lot. If they are REALLY exposed, you might try to see what else can be insulated w/out creating a source of mold, or too much closed off air (as in a basement.) Lowes or Home Depot are good places to get advice.

If the pipes are in a crawlspace & you live in a really cold place, you might have to invest in electrically, heated, coil insulation. Never have installed it, but, know it exists.

Again, w/out seeing the location, hard to give a definite answer.

Then, for the kitchen & bathroom sink: check the weather & leave a VERY SMALL drip coming out of the faucet. Anywhere I have lived in the mountains, or very cold areas, this is what the water dept. will tell you. And, not to make money. It is the ONLY way sometimes, to insure you will continue to have water.

You may just have to wait; too. Hope not.
Immediate Fix: go buy several gallons of h2o and use for drinking & sink bathing.

Answer 5

Apply a heat source, Electric heater, hair dryer, electric oil heater, propane heater,etc. all work very well. First, open up a tap, preferably the farthest one from the water meter. When the water runs freely, I would suggest that you keep that tap open so that just a small trickle of water comes out. Spring water never freezes!
Good Luck. One more thing, when using a propane heater, use only a short time. The fumes can make you goofy!

Answer 6

yes, a hair dryer works, in the past i've often had to use one myself for my pipes. Also, what works, one of those halogyn lamps. Baracade the central location of frozen pipes(if you know where it is) to keep the heat in that one area.(if its only one area that is frozen.) Make sure the lamp isn't touching anything. You dont want to burn your house down. Wrap the area w/ some heat tape and insulation once the pipes are unfrozen. I've had to double insulate the area. A heating salamandor works well if every pipe is frozen.