The Clear Take on Water and Wastewater Today

The Clear Take on Water and Wastewater Today

Tips to Pass Along in Your Community

Feel free to copy and paste these tips to your website or other forms of communication for your citizens.

Freezing weather is here. When the cold comes, check the water flow in your home periodically. If you notice decreased pressure, that is an indicator that your pipes are beginning to freeze.

  1. Turn off the water supply and leave all the affected faucets open to keep the water flowing and relieve excess pressure.
  2. Once you determine which faucets no longer deliver water, you must (if possible) check the pipes that supply them. If none of the faucets in the home are working, the freeze point may be in the home’s main supply line. Check the supply lines that enter your home. Once the frozen section of pipe has been located, it is important to determine the exact freeze point (the one section of pipe that feels colder than the surrounding pipe or a pipe that has noticeable frost on it).
  3. Check to see if the pipe has burst before attempting to thaw it. If it has, the pipe must be repaired. If the pipe hasn’t burst, you can attempt to thaw it by exposing it to heat, working toward the water supply from the faucet end of the freeze. There are several methods:
    1. Use a hair dryer to apply hot air to the pipe.
    2. You can also use an electric space heater to warm the pipe, making certain the heater does not come in contact with water.
    3. Soak towels in hot water and wrap them around the pipe. Replace the towels as they cool with hot towels. You can also pour hot water over the towels – using a receptacle to catch the runoff.

    Continue thawing the frozen pipe until you have full water pressure.