Frozen Pipes? Here Are Some Tips

It’s cold out there, and lots of reports are com­ing in locally about frozen pipes. With that in mind, a few safety reminders…

Experts say you should never use a torch to thaw pipes. The best way to address the prob­lem is to pre­vent it from hap­pen­ing in the first place.

They say if you leave a cab­i­net door, such as the doors under your kitchen or bath­room sinks open, the warmer air in the room can cir­cu­late around pipes and pre­vent them from freez­ing.

Another tip is to leave your faucet drip a bit. Flow­ing water takes much longer to freeze. Only a tiny stream is nec­es­sary and will be effec­tive.

If, despite all the pre­cau­tions you take, your pipes freeze any­way, experts say before you use a space heater to thaw them, be sure to remove any com­bustible mate­ri­als near the area where you are plac­ing the heater, and keep it far enough from sur­faces, such as build­ing mate­ri­als.

If you use an exten­sion cord, make sure that it is heavy enough to han­dle the high load of a space hearter.