Apply heat to the section of pipe using an electric heating pad wrapped around the pipe, an electric hair dryer, a portable space heater (kept away from flammable materials), or by wrapping pipes with towels soaked in hot water.
Do NOT turn the water off unless there's an actual leak. The correct thing to do is to run the water 24/7 until temperatures rise.
Your pipes will eventually begin to thaw on their own once the temperatures rise above freezing.
Open a Hot Water Valve
First, turn off the main water valve to take the pressure off the frozen pipe. Then, open multiple hot water outlets if possible (including the one closest to the frozen pipe). By opening faucets, water will have a path to flow as the pipe unfreezes.
In most instances, pouring hot water down the drain will unfreeze drain pipes. However, it's essential to take your time with this method to increase its effectiveness and ensure your safety. Follow these simple steps: Fill a pot with a half-gallon of water and bring it to a boil on the stove.
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.
Possible Issue: One of the most common culprits for this predicament is a malfunctioning differential valve. This valve is responsible for controlling the flow of hot and cold water in your plumbing system. When it's not functioning correctly, it can lead to an imbalanced water supply, leaving you with cold water only.
When a pipe freezes, the water inside the pipe expands as it turns to ice, which can cause the pipe to crack or even burst. As the ice blockage grows, it can also cause increased pressure within the pipe, leading to further damage.
Thawing Frozen Pipes
While you wait, reduce water pressure by opening all the faucets inside the home one-quarter turn. Water will begin to trickle out, helping the ice to thaw. Remember to close all faucets after full water pressure is restored.
Turn the Heat Upin the Property: You can attempt to thaw the frozen pipe by increasing the temperature in the property. Turning the thermostat up may be all that is needed to allow the ice blockage to melt.
Pipes will eventually unfreeze on their own naturally, but this takes far more time and before thawing occurs the freezing could become much worse. This could eventually lead to the pipe bursting and causing significantly more damage. It's better to proactively thaw a frozen pipe size than let it persist.
It also is recommended to turn on both hot and cold faucets near outside walls to allow a small trickle of water to run during the night and, if not used often, during extremely cold days as well.
When you switch on the valve and no water comes from your valve, it is one of the initial symptoms of a frozen pipe. At first, you have to examine that the water is still switched on and check you don't leak. Once you have verified these two things, carry on your examination to ensure one of your pipes has not cracked.
Check the circuit breaker.
If you have an electric water heater, the first thing to check when experiencing hot water issues is your circuit breaker. A tripped circuit means the current was disrupted. As a safety measure, the circuit breaker flips.
When you use up all of the hot water in a traditional water heater, you will often need to wait anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours or more for the water in the tank to reheat. This is why many people opt to switch to tankless water heaters.
Can You Flush the Toilet If Your Pipes Are Frozen? In most cases, no. Attempting to do so can cause pressure buildup in the pipe and lead to bursting. Additionally, flushing a toilet with a frozen pipe can result in unsanitary conditions due to a lack of proper drainage.
Overall, it's best that you take heed and drip your faucets when temperatures dip below freezing. A simple trickle of hot and/or cold water—both from faucets inside and outside the home—can prevent you from having to deal with a much larger issue (and bill!) in the long run.
There are several methods you can try, including a hair dryer, heat tape, or a space heater. You can also attempt to thaw out the pipe by simply turning up the heat in the home, but this will take much longer than one of the previously mentioned methods.
It may be due to a leak, a build-up of sediment or it could have become unplugged. Try to fix it by flushing the water heater. Allow it to heat up again and try using the faucet once more to see if the water comes out.