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Plumbing Advice

How To Thaw Frozen Pipes

One of the worst nightmares of a homeowner is frozen pipes. Thawing a frozen pipe is important but what’s even more important is thawing it correctly. Here are a few tips to thaw your pipes without damaging your property.

Open the Faucet 
The first step before thawing a frozen pipe is to open the faucet that the frozen pipes lead to. Be sure to open both the hot and cold handles, doing so will relieve the pressure in the pipes and will allow water to escape once you being the thawing process. 

Exposed Pipes: Ways to Thaw

If your frozen pipes are in an easily accessible space, there are a few ways to can try and thaw them.

  • Hair Dryer- This is a classic technique (also the easiest) to thaw a pipe. All you have to do is turn on the hair dryer and point it at the pipe, be sure to start at the closest spot to the faucet and work your way back. 
  • Hot Towels- A safer method is to wrap hot towels (that have been dipped in water) around the pipe to slowly and carefully thaw the blog.
  • Electrical Heating Tape- Another technique is to apply electrical heating tape directly to the pipe; the tape distributes heat throughout the entire pipe.

        
Enclosed Pipes: Ways to Thaw
If your pipes are in an area that’s hard to get to, then you have a couple options to heat the pipes up.

  • Turn Up The Heat- This sounds simple but it’s quite effective. Increasing your property’s temperature may be the only thing that’s needed to allow the frozen blockage to melt. 
  • Infrared Lamp- If you know the exact location of where the frozen pipe is in the wall, you can try to thaw it by placing an infrared lamp in front of the wall where the pipe is located. The heat will penetrate the wall and help the pipe thaw out. 

When thawing frozen pipes, it’s important to be careful when dealing with water and electrical appliances, exposed wires and more. For more information, contact the team at DryMedic Plumber Restoration today.

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