Few things have the ability to stop us dead in our tracks like finding out we’ve fallen prey to frozen pipes. Whenever you’re unfortunate enough to discover that your faucets and shower aren’t producing water any more, your mind starts racing. What should you do? How do you thaw them out? Should you call a plumber?

All good questions! Frozen pipes are one of the more annoying nuisances you can experience. However, if you accidentally deploy the wrong strategy to combat them, you can cause serious damage to your pipes. Here are a couple of ways that you can work to thaw your frozen pipes from the plumbing experts at Roman Electric!

Ways to Thaw Them Out

If you’re already stuck in the middle of a frozen-pipe situation, reading about how to prevent them in the first place isn’t helpful. You need immediate help, so we’ll cut right to the chase.

• Open cabinets and your faucets. The key here is to introduce as much heat as possible to your frozen pipes. To do this, remove any obstruction between the pipes and warm air by opening under-sink cabinets and opening faucets. It probably won’t make a big difference immediately, but it’ll gradually heat them.
• Heat them. An easy way to make sure the pipes get hot is to… heat them! Obviously! But you’ve got to be careful here. One way is to boil some water, then pour the water on towels that have been wrapped around the frozen pipes. Another is to place a heat lamp close to the pipes to introduce a passive heating element.
• Call a plumber. Sometimes you just don’t have the time or resources available to put toward a pipe-thawing effort. When that happens, a plumber’s expertise might be your best bet. Call your go-to plumber (like Roman Electric) and have them come take a look – they’ll know what to do.

What NOT to Do

However, in the race to blast your frozen pipes with as much heat as possible, there are a few ways you can slip up and cause more damage. For example, although you may think that a tool that provides a blazing-hot flame would be helpful – like a blowtorch – it won’t. A blowtorch or any other open flame can accidentally catch other things on fire. Then your problem has suddenly become much bigger.

Tips for the Future

Once you’ve got your frozen-pipe conundrum behind you, take some time to safeguard your home from this problem occurring in the future. Insulate the pipes and the area around them to trap heat and keep cold air out. Start dripping water from your faucets when the temperatures drop so the water is always flowing, and make sure the garage door stays closed.

Frozen pipes are no fun for anyone. But with these handy tips, you’ll be well on your way to returning to normal. Now, sometimes the cold is especially harsh, and you’ll need expert help to thaw the ice. When that happens, give Roman Electric a call!

Get in touch at 414-369-3798 for more information!