It's bone-chilling cold out there this winter!
Frozen pipes are a problem you never want to deal with but are all too common during extended cold snaps in winter like the one we are having.
I want you protected, so do me a favor and as soon as you are done reading this blog post, remove any hoses you have attached to your outdoor faucets and then go in the house and turn off the water to the outside faucet (also called a hose bibb or sill cock).
It is critical to remove any hoses attached to the outside faucet! An attached garden hose is sure recipe for frozen pipe damage this winter. Use a hair dryer if necessary to thaw out a frozen hose connection to the sill cock in order to remove the hose.
The sill cock only turns water on and off outside, there is (or is supposed to be) a water shut off valve inside the house for the outside faucet. You may have to do some investigating in your home following water supply lines to try and find the shut off valve. They are usually located near the outside faucet.
By removing any hoses and turning off the water supply to the sill cock you have averted major risk of water damage done by a burst frozen pipe.
Frozen water exerts thousands of pounds of pressure per square inch on a pipe and can burst it, causing flooding and major damage to your home. But there are right ways and wrong ways to thaw out a frozen pipe, and knowing how to perform this critical repair and prevent it from from occurring can save your home.
So read Thawing a Frozen Water Pipe and just chill out, don't freeze up! (Ouch!)
Comments
My boiler heating system seems to be low on water and is not heating properly. What do I do? govnet@q.com
It is probably losing water through the PRV due to lack of expansion tank air. See the tutorial http://homerepair.about.com/od/heatingcoolingrepair/ss/boier_exp_tank.htm
Bob,
I looked around our 1964 ranch and I have no hose bib shut off valves in the unfinished basement ceiling. Rather than cutting the section and using a Sharkbite ball valve, will insulating the pipe with foam sleeve pipe insulation work? Or is there any other easy options, not including heat tape?
Thanks.
Insulating does not create or add heat but helps extend the time it takes to freeze a pipe. Water supply pipes exposed to low temperaturees should be insulated. Your best bet is to use a passive solution like IceLoc as I explain in the tutorial here http://homerepair.about.com/od/plumbingrepair/ss/thaw_frzn_pipe_7.htm or use heat tape.
Unfortunately didn’t get out to the outdoor faucets in time! Two off them appear frozen and I cannot turn the tap. Will the hair drier treatment thaw them out enough to turn off and to disconnect the hoses?
I’m also still hunting for the outdoor faucet shut off valve (there are three outdoor faucets at the front and side of the house) and don’t know where to start first.