What To Do To Stop Your Pipes From Freezing

The cold weather means there is an increase in frozen pipes. If this happens, your home could not have access to water for drinking, cleaning or bathing. That’s not to mention the rather large expenses it could require. It’s imperative, therefore, that you know the steps to take in order to prevent this from happening, or fix it if it already has. Here are some of the ways that you can keep your pipes from freezing or help defrost them if they have:

How to avoid frozen pipes

There are several ways to avoid your pipes freezing in the first place. Make sure there is a lot of warm air being circulated to the area where the pipes are so that it doesn’t get too cool. You could keep a thermostat in the room at all times to monitor the temperature and make sure you know when the water is at risk of freezing.

What to do if your pipes are already frozen

First of all, speak to your neighbours to make sure the pipe has definitely been frozen and it is not just a water shortage in your area. Once you have ascertained this information, you should check for where the pipes might have frozen. Run your hand along the pipe and see if there is a section that feels disproportionately cold. You should then turn off the stop tap (usually found under the kitchen sink) and open the closest tap so that water can flow from it when it has defrosted. Then proceed to speed along the defrosting by warming it up. A good idea could be to use a hairdryer or heat packs. If the pipes have not been damaged (in which case you will need expert plumbing services) you should be able to turn the tap back on and have the water flow like normal.