How to Prevent and Deal With Frozen Pipes

Texas is at its coldest during the months of December, January, and February. With temperatures going as far down as freezing, you could have frozen pipes during these months. While this can be a huge headache to deal with, it’s not impossible to thaw your pipes, or even prevent/minimize the freezing to begin with. 

As part of our mission to make plumbing less of a headache for everyone, here are a few tips to make sure that your pipes can say, “The cold never bothered me anyway.”

Let it Drip

Leaving your faucet with a tiny drip running might seem like an unwise course of action, but think about it. It’ll be harder for ice to form if the water keeps moving. In addition to SLOWING DOWN the freezing process, this will also prevent your pipes from bursting because, as we were taught back in physics class, water expands as it freezes and the flowing water prevents extra pressure from building up in the pipe itself since there’s less water inside at any given time. There are more science-y explanations out there, but this is basically the cliffnotes version and it’s the bit that you need to know the most. Remember, just a small drip, you don’t have to keep it running as if you’re washing a coffee mug.

Like a Nice Warm Hug

Pipe insulation is a pretty cheap way to keep your pipes from freezing. Almost any home improvement store is bound to have some kind of pipe insulation that you should apply to the coldest parts of your home that have pipes in them. Another alternative is to wrap your pipes up with heating cables or heat tape to fight off the cold temperatures from really building up inside them. The heating tape or a hair dryer would also work in slowly thawing out any frozen pipes along with running a little water as you apply warmth.

Feel, Don’t Conceal

Air plays a crucial role in keeping your pipes warm. Try to keep your interior doors open, including cabinet doors with pipes in them, and keep your home at a warm and comfortable temperature. This way the pipes won’t get too cold and freeze because the warm air is circulating in your home. The science side of the internet might attribute this to the one of the laws of thermodynamics, but an explanation that’s closer to home might be when you go “HAAAAAAAH” and blow warm air at your hands or your frozen ice cream cup instead of “HOOOOOOOH” when cooling your clam chowder. By opening your mouth and letting the warm air move, the heat from your breath moves to the colder places like your hands/ice cream cup. In the same vein, the warm air circulating your house because of the open doors will have their heat transferred to your colder pipes.

While the tips above will help you keep your waterworks in good condition during the cold season, having a few problems here and there might not be avoidable. That’s why you have us at Integrity Services & Plumbing. Whether it’s your home, your business, or a client’s pipes, our commercial and residential plumbing services are here to make sure that your winter problems stay in the winter.