The job goes more quickly by pouring hot water or a mixture of vinegar, baking soda and salt water down the drain. Space heaters, hair dryers and heating pads are highly efficient tools for unfreezing a drain pipe. If a frozen drain line ruptures, turn off your home's main water supply.
Apply heat to the frozen area
There are several ways to do this. You can wrap the pipes in thermostatically controlled heat tape, or you can use an external heat source such as a hair dryer or space heater.
We repeat: keep your faucets open and your water turned off while pipes thaw! Keeping the faucets open will also expedite the thawing process and allow the thawing ice to run through the pipes.
Manually thaw: Begin the thawing process at the most vulnerable places (near faucets). By targeting these areas first, your pipes will be less likely to burst. To do so, gently apply heat to the frozen areas. A blow dryer is a good option (use caution, go slowly, and don't use an open flame).
Keep the faucet open. As you treat the frozen pipe and the frozen area begins to melt, water will begin to flow through the frozen area. Running water through the pipe will help melt ice in the pipe.
Thaw Frozen Pipes
Turn off the water immediately at the main shut off valve. Open the faucet so that water will flow through the pipe once the area is melted. This will help melt more ice. Apply heat to or around the pipe using a hair dryer.
Turn on all faucets: Checking each faucet in your home will help you narrow down your search. The faucets that have little or no water pressure likely have a frozen pipe in their supply line. If every faucet is showing low water pressure, the frozen pipe may be near the water meter.
Be prepared to wait at least 30 to 60 minutes. When the pipe begins to thaw, water will start flowing at a faster rate through the open faucet. Even after the water pressure is fully restored, it's recommended to keep the heat on the pipe to ensure the ice in the line is completely melted.
Will Pipes Thaw on Their Own? Technically yes, but the “wait-and-watch” method carries risk. As that ice begins to thaw, any water caught between the faucet and the ice will cause increased pressure within the pipe. That increase in pressure can lead to frozen pipes bursting.
Things You Should Know
Warm the pipe with a blow dryer and wrap electrical pipe tape around it to thaw a pipe. Insulate your home and keep the heat on so that it stays at least 55 °F (13 °C) during winter to keep pipes from freezing.
Tip #7: A Thaw Machine Will Be Your Savior
It's exactly what it sounds like: a portable device that plumbers use to thaw pipes quickly.
Pipe-thawing options: There are several things you can do to thaw your home's pipes. Here's a list: Probably the most popular and safest pipe-thawing option is to use hot water.
Pouring a cup of baking soda and then a cup of vinegar into a drain pipe can produce a chemical reaction that is sometimes effective at clearing deeper blockages. Make sure to follow up with hot water to melt away any remaining debris.
Even if a pipe does not burst, the expanding ice can still cause damage. This can lead to leaks which can cause significant damage over time if they go unnoticed. The best way to protect against frozen pipes and the resulting water damage is with an automatic water shut-off device.
Although common, frozen pipes do not always burst. However, the ice can increase this risk when it thaws and is usually worsened as it raises pressure further which makes pipe bursting common near winter's end or springtime. Furthermore, the more water flowing through the pipe, the greater chance of rupture.
The pipes most likely to freeze are those nearest an uninsulated wall, door, window, garage, attic, basement, or along an uninsulated floor. Add insulation to exterior walls wherever possible and wrap pipes with insulation.
If you have frozen pipes in your home, it can be tempting to try to heat them up as quickly as possible, but this could cause them to burst. Instead, use tools like a hairdryer, space heater, and even your home's thermostat to gradually warm the pipes.
Locate the main water shut-off valve, which could be located in the basement. It is important to shut off the water prior to thawing the pipes as a pipe may already have broken under the extreme pressure caused by the frozen line. Now that the water is turned off, you have a few options to thaw the pipe.
If a pipe is frozen and located behind a wall, your best bet is to turn your home's furnace up and then wait for the warmth to reach the pipe. You can also use an infrared lamp to help heat the section of wall where you think the pipe is frozen.
Your pipes will eventually thaw on their own, but this will take at least a few hours or potentially several days, depending on where the pipe is located and the air temperature around it.
It's important to note that you shouldn't fully open your faucets and plumbing fixtures directly after a freeze. This will drastically increase the water pressure within the pipes if there is any frozen water inside them, causing the pipes to burst.