Frozen pipes are a real pain; they interrupt your water supply and if not dealt with quickly can cause inconvenient and expensive damage to your plumbing. If you wake up to frozen pipes this winter, follow this guide courtesy of ProRestore DKI in Grimes to amend the problem.
Get your kit together
To thaw out your frozen pipe(s), you’ll need the following:
- A heavy towel
- A source of very hot or boiling water
- A hairdryer or heat lamp
- A bucket
Turn on your faucets
Turn on the faucet of any affected pipe to allow steam and water to escape during the thawing process. Make sure that you work on thawing your pipe starting at the faucet and working backwards, if you start at a distance from the faucet then steam and water produced by thawing might get trapped in the pipe and could even cause it to burst.
Start thawing
Wrap the towel around your pipe, remembering to start by the faucet and work backwards, and place a bucket underneath to catch runoff. Carefully pour hot/boiling water over the towel. Leave for a while to allow the heat to melt the ice inside the pipe, then reposition your towel and bucket further down the pipe and repeat. Use your hairdryer or heat lamp to help melt and more stubborn sections of ice.
Frozen drainpipes
If you have a problematic frozen drainpipe, feed a length of hosepipe down it until you hit the ice blockage, then feed hot water carefully into the hose using a funnel. Water can back up in the hosepipe and overflow, so have a bucket ready to catch it and be very careful not to scald yourself!
Take preventative measures
Now you’re done, you probably want to avoid having to deal with frozen pipes again in future. Avoid problems such as this with our guide to preparing your home for winter.
If the winter’s wreaked havoc on your home, whether it’s water damage repair, contents restoration or construction services you need, look no further than ProRestore DKI for property restoration in Grimes. Call (888) 846-6505 to get a free estimate.
