Water pipes in a frozen state can give you more problems than you can ever imagine. It can stop water from flowing into your faucets keeping you from doing the everyday things that need to get done. Thus, here are the things you should do in the event your water pipes become frozen, so you can free your pipes from a frozen state.
1.) Look for the frozen pipes. Turn on all of your faucets (one at a time), so you can determine which ones are not working.
2.) Once you determined the line that is frozen. Get a hair dryer. Turn the equipment to its highest level and repeatedly run it over the length of your pipe.
3.) If you don’t have a hair dryer, then use a heat gun. This equipment is more powerful than a hair dryer. Just do what you did in step no. 2 with the heat gun that you have.
4.) Place warm rags or towels around the pipe. Repeatedly do this until the ice completely melts.
5.) Put electrical heat tape on the frozen portion of your pipe and turn the equipment on. Allow the tape to warm up your water line.
Thawing a Pipe inside Your Wall
1.) Raise the temperature inside your home up to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Let that temperature last for a maximum of 3 hours.
2.) Get back to the faucets that are not working and check if water is starting to come out from them. Tiny drops of water would do for your inspection.
3.) If you can’t see any water coming from the faucets, then get the portion of the wall which hides the water line with the use of a keyhole saw. Do this step very carefully.
4.) When the pipe is already exposed, then just do all of the steps that were already discussed in the previous section for you to completely thaw your pipe. You may ask the assistance of another family member if you want to.
5.) Fix the damage that you have done to your wall. If necessary, paint that portion of your wall again for you hide the cut made by the keyhole saw.
Additional Tip:
You can just let the electrical heat tape stay on your pipe for the coming years and plug it only when the winter season comes.
Caution:
If you are uncertain of where your frozen pipe is, then don’t do anything to your dry wall. You would only regret the damage that you have done. Instead, call a professional to come assess your frozen pipe problem.