How to Repair a Frozen Pipe

When pipes freeze they can crack and burst, leaving your house flooded. You can take these steps to deal with frozen pipes before they become an expensive problem.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Garden hose, neoprene or some form of rubber
• Clamps
• Pipe clamps and rubber pipe pads
• Hacksaw or pipe cutter
• PCP, CPVC or ABS rigid pipe
• PVC solvent primer and solvent cement
• Rags or towels

1. Note any reduction in water pressure and act quickly. Thaw pipes before they freeze completely. Turn on the faucet or outlet for a partially frozen pipe and let the water run.
2. Take more aggressive action to thaw a completely frozen pipe. Check if there are any signs of leaking or ruptured pipes. These will need repairs before thawing the pipe.
3. Turn off the water supply. If there is a valve availabe to the frozen pipe, turn this off, if not then turn off the water to the entire house.
4. Make sure that one or two faucets are turned on to allow for the expansion of steam or for water forced from the system by expanding or melting ice.
5. Thaw the pipe using a hair dryer or a steamer. Work from the frozen pipe towards the incoming supply of water. Do not thaw too quickly because boiling water or steam will damage the system.
6. Repair the pipe. Use a garden hose, old inner tube, or any form of rubber clamped over the damaged pipe until you can call a plumber to fix it properly.
7. Use pipe clamps. If you repair the pipe yourself, use pipe clamps. Wrap the broken or leaking pipe with a rubber or neoprene pad. Then fit the clamp, which is hinged on one side, over the pad. The clamp is then closed down and fastened with nuts and bolts.
8. Use "solvent welding" if the water pipes are constructed from rigid plastic. These are pipes that are designated as PVC, CPVC, or ABS. This repair begins with removing the damaged area of pipe. Then cut a length of new pipe to match the gap. Use a hacksaw or pipe cutter to cut the pipe. Measure carefully. Fit the replacement into the gap and make sure it fits correctly. When the pieces have been shaved and fitted as tightly as possible, make matching marks on the new and old pipes so they may be repositioned in exactly. Clean the surfaces that are to come together with the solvent primer. Brush the pipe and its new fitting with the solvent cement, and place the pipe in a ¼ turn position away from a match of the marks. Then twist so that the marks match. This spreads the cement evenly.

Tips & Warnings

• If you have a long stretch of steel pipe that is damaged or copper pipe that has ruptured, call the plumber. This sort of damage requires specific tools for repair.

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