As a relentless winter weather pattern continues to bring power outages and temperatures below zero in dozens of states this week, many Americans may be dealing with frozen pipes.
Water expands as it freezes, putting pressure on metal or plastic pipes that can break.
Many houses, but not all, were built with water pipes located in the building’s insulation to protect them from freezing. With very cold temps this week, however, your home may have weak spots that make it susceptible to pipes freezing and possibly bursting.
Homes in the northern parts of the US may be less at risk, but homes in the east, mid-Atlantic and south may be more frozen for pipes. This is because the further south you go, the more likely a home may have pipes that are not insulated.
“Water pipes in the attic, for example, would be more prevalent in the South,” Remington Brown, senior engineering director at the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, told USA earlier.
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The danger of freezing is also more in basements, garages, crawl spaces, kitchens and other rooms with exterior walls such as bathrooms.
If you notice that you have a broken pipe, turn off the water at the main shut-off valve, usually at the water meter or where the main pipe enters your home, John Galeotafiore said. , which contains tips for dealing with frozen pipes on its website.
Check all other faucets in your home to see if you still have frozen pipes. If one pipe freezes, others can freeze as well.
“Your older homes would probably be more susceptible to this because the insulation was not so good against it and they might have led some pipes in places where it might not have been,” Galeotafiore said. “Having said that, there may be new construction that people just did not do it the right way.”
Here’s how to thaw frozen pipes and prevent them from happening again.
How to thaw pipes
If the water flow from a tap is slower than usual, you may have a frozen pipe. If you can see the pipe in question, you can defrost it to prevent it from bursting. Here’s what you need to do:
• Turn on the tap and see if the water flows. Flowing water, even cold water, will help melt ice in the pipe.
• Use a hair dryer to heat the pipe. “It’s easy to use and safe,” Brown said. “You would start from the tap and work to heat the pipe.”
• You can also use a heating block, a heat lamp or a space heater in the room where the pipe is. Towels soaked in water can also be wrapped around the pipe. Apply Galeotafiore heat to the side closest to the faucet, “because if you start on the other side, you can build up pressure there and possibly burst the pipe.”
• Continue to apply heat until full water pressure returns.
• If you cannot find the frozen pipe section, or it is not accessible, call a licensed plumber.
• Do not use a blowtorch, kerosene or propane heater, or any other device with an open flame to thaw the pipe. “You do not want to use anything that is going to catch fire,” Brown said.
How to prevent pipes from freezing
Many homes have exposed pipes in their homes, perhaps under the sink or in a garage or attic. There are ways to prevent it from freezing.
• Wrap the pipe in improvised insulation. Anthony Tornetta, a spokesman for the American Red Cross, has a quick fix to using newsprint or towels, which includes tips for preventing and thawing frozen pipes on his website. “If you can add isolation to these areas, it’s a first line of defense,” he said. ‘As little as a quarter of an inch wrapped around the pipe will help, especially if you’re in areas that do not freeze for a long period of time. It’s a deep freezing point, but it’s going to pass. ‘
• Open cupboards in the kitchen or bathroom with pipes near the outside of the house. “It allows warmer air to flow into the house through the cabinet to prevent the pipes from freezing,” Tornetta said.
• Keep your home warm to prevent pipes from freezing. Do not lower the temperature in the house at night during cold weather, says Galeotafiore. “It sounds counter-intuitive with what we usually say about saving energy, but you have to do it, because having a pipe can do thousands of dollars in damage,” he said.
• Use space heaters safely. If you use it to defrost a pipe or to keep a room warm, make sure it is not near flammable, such as curtains, blankets or the towels you use on pipes. “It’s a great resource for heating your home, but you have to use it wisely,” Tornetta said.
• Constantly drain a small stream of water from the taps which may have pipes that are susceptible to freezing. “If the house is heated and you turn on the faucet and open the cabinet doors, even if you are in a very cold environment, that should be a good solution,” Brown said.
• If you are not going to be home, ask someone to check your property regularly to ensure that the heat works and the pipes do not freeze.
Follow US TODAY reporter Mike Snider on Twitter: @MikeSnider.
This story was originally published on TODAY in January 2019.
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This article originally appeared in the US today: How to freeze pipes: Turn on the tap, other tips amid the storm in Texas