In this bitter cold weather, remember water expands as it freezes. That expansion puts pressure on pipes and the chances are you could wake up to no water coming from the faucet.
To find out what to do in this situation, KLIN News spoke with Brian Gill who is a plumbing service manager at John Henry Plumbing, Heating, and Air who says their phones have been ringing off the hook the past few days. He says if you turn on the tap and no water is coming out, there are things you should do.
Gill says, “Locate the shut off valve for your house. Shut that water off because pipes start to thaw out. You could have some broken pipes and that water is going to flood the house or flood the basement.”
Gill says about 90% of the time when you have a frozen pipe, it will break so it is best to have a professional on hand to deal with repairs.
There are things you can do to prevent frozen pipes from happening.
Gill recommends leaving water drip from the faucet, especially if pipes have frozen before or if they are exposed to the elements. That running water helps prevent pipes from freezing.
Open kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors so warm air can get to the pipes.
Open doors to attics, basements, crawl spaces or garages if pipes are located there.
In colder rooms with pipes, use a space heater in that area but make sure you are home and able to keep tabs on it.