What To Do When You Have Frozen Pipes

Fall is upon us and that means temperatures are starting to drop. It?s an exciting time to pull out your sweaters and start planning for the holidays, but it also means you need to keep an eye on your home?s water pipes.?

Many homeowners neglect to take the proper precautions that can safeguard their water pipes from freezing or even bursting and that?s because they aren?t exactly sure how the freezing happens. Water pipes are most likely to freeze if they are uninsulated and if they are located by an exterior wall. When frozen pipes burst in St. Louis, MO homes, it is simply because frozen water expands and has nowhere to go within your pipes.?

There are many different signs that can indicate your home has frozen pipes. If any of these sound familiar, then you may be dealing with frozen pipes:

The very first step you should take after discovering a frozen pipe is to turn off the main water supply to that pipeline. Homeowners who fail to turn off the water to frozen pipes can end up not only with a burst pipe, but also with extensive water damage to other areas of their house. Turning off your water supply as soon as possible can save you time and money in damages, even if it means turning off the whole house supply.

Carefully thaw frozen pipes

There are a few different tools you can utilize to help you thaw frozen pipes. These tricks work best for pipes that are exposed or pipes that you can see:

One of the most common questions we get in regard to frozen pipes is ?can you tell me how to thaw frozen pipes in a wall??. Thawing pipes in a wall can be difficult and may require professional attention, but there are a few steps you can try before calling ABC.?

The first and easiest step is to try turning up the heat inside your home. If you pipes are barely frozen, this can often fix the issue. If that doesn?t do the trick, you can attempt to place a heat lamp by the wall where the affected pipes are located. This may take some time, so please be careful and keep an eye out so that you don?t start a fire or cause smoke damage to the wall.?

The last resort is to cut our a section of the ceiling or drywall where the frozen pipe exists and use a space heater, electrical pipe heat tape, or a hair dryer (like mentioned above). If you are unfamiliar with the tools needed to complete this job or aren;t sure where to cut, please do not attempt this method. Play it safe and give us a call at (314) 582-3611.

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