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What to do if you have a frozen pipe or frozen plumbing in San Antonio

[If you are experiencing frozen pipes in June of 2023, we regret to tell you that we don’t service Antartica any longer]

Our first freeze of 2022 has happened in San Antonio Texas! As extremely cold, freezing temperatures continue, we’ve recieved hundreds of phone calls from people with frozen plumbing or pipes even after they’ve wrapped their exterior pipes. Some callers say that their pipes have frozen and cut the water off to certain rooms such as a bathroom. In some rare cases, some callers say that they have frozen pipes also also burst, leaking water into their home, in their walls or ceililngs. But if you have a frozen pipe or two, here are some tips that may help you avoid having to call one of our plumbers out and possibly save you some money!

What to do if you have a frozen pipe that is cutting water supply off in a single room (without a leak):

Open the cabinets under the sink – let that warm air in and get to those pipes and possibly thaw them out. (If there are babies or small children in your home, either living there or just visiting, beware of items in that cabinet that could be hazardous or dangerous to them and remove these items completely before opening your cabinets).

Have a small electric space heater? turn it on and point it into the open cabinets under that sink and it coud possibly thaw your plumbing out and restore water flow. Don’t use a torch, a flame or anything drastic in an attempt to thaw the leak. You could cause your pipes to burst and leak, or even worse, cause a fire.

Even Though That Faucet Is Frozen, Leave it open a little – this will help relieve some of the pressure within that frozen pipe and when it starts thawing out, the water will start running again.

Let the rest of the faucets in your home trickle – but actually, you should let an actual stream of water flow out of your faucets so that the others don’t freeze as well – keep that water in your pipes moving and it won’t freeze.

Be patient – if you take drastic measures in an attempt to thaw your plumbing out much faster than usual, you could cause damage that results in a leak and the cost of having to repair it. Give it time and it will eventually thaw out.

What to do if you have a frozen pipe with a leak:

If your home has traditional plumbing, find your water main shut off valve and turn off your home’s water supply. Water leaks can cause damage that results in more cost to repair besides plumbing such as drywall, mold, mildew, cabinetry and more. The sooner you stop water flow, the less expensive it will be to repair. Yes, in this case, you’ll have to call a professional plumber out to locate the leak and fix it correctly.

If you home has a plumbing manifold, you can access your plumbing manifold (usually in the garage) and turn off just the fixture with the leak. Plumbing manifolds have a small tool or “key” that is attached to the panel you can use to turn the little knobs and cut water supply to a specific sink, tub or fixture and each one should be labeled clearly.

Open the rest of your cabinets under all of your sinks so you don’t have any more pipes freeze up – let that warm air work it’s magic. It may seem a little inconvenient however it’s better than a frozen pipe or a burst pipe. (Again, if there are babies or small children in your home, either living there or just visiting, beware of items in that cabinet that could be hazardous or dangerous to them and remove these items completely before opening your cabinets).

For next time, here’s how to better prepare your plumbing for a freeze in advance to avoid frozen plumbing:

Wrap all exterior pipes – First, Disconnect any garden hoses from your outdoor spigots. Use proper pipe insulation materials from your local hardware store to throroughly wrap your exterior pipes. If you waited too long, and there aren’t any of the proper materials left you can use other things to wrap your exterior pipes. The general rule is materials that don’t absorb water. Be creative. For example, you can use pool noodles that are made of a flexible styrofoam to wrap exterior pipes. Use duct tape to secure it around your pipes. Use any type of styrofoam or similar insulating material that you can fit tightly around the pipe and secure it. Make sure that your pipe wrapping will withstand the wind and rain because if it blows off, your pipe will surely freeze.

Wrap interior pipes – if you have a sink that routinely freezes, you can wrap your interior pipes as well, just under that sink to help prevent a frozen pipe.

Open cabinet doors to allow warm air to move around the pipes and under your sinks

Trickle water out of your faucets to keep water moving – make sure it’s a steady stream and not just a drip. Really cold water that is just dripping can actually freeze after it comes out of your faucet and pile up in your sink and spill out. A steady stream will not allow that to happen.

Not everything works 100% to prevent pipes from freezing in San Antonio Texas but these tips may help you prevent frozen plumbing or a burst pipe. If the above suggestions didn’t work and you need help from professional plumbers in San Antonio, call us at Air & Plumbing Today! We’ll respond as fast as possible and fix your frozen or burst plumbing at a very affordable rate. Call us at 210-519-5959 or book online at www.airandplumbingtoday.com

If your home has tradditional plumbing, you can turn off the main by your water meter that’s usually near the curb in front of your home. Grab a wrench or some plyers and turn in the direction of the arrow on the knob.

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If your home has a plumbing manifold, you can turn off the exact area of your home that is experiencing a leak from frozen pipes. These manifolds are usually located in your home’s garage and there’s a small tool that you can use to turn off specific fixtures.

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