The winters in the Chicago area are cold with temperatures below freezing for most of the season. When the outside temperature drops this low, it is possible for water within outdoor pipes and in pipes in uninsulated areas of the home to freeze. Ice within pipes expands and the pressure from the expanding ice will eventually cause the pipe to burst. Burst pipes can spill hundreds of gallons of water into your home and cause major damage.
If a pipe bursts in your home, shut off the water main and call our professionals right away. Fly Plumbing & HVAC provides frozen pipe repair services in Wheeling, IL and the surrounding Chicago suburbs 24 hours a day at 847-999-7430. Our technicians will repair the damage to your plumbing system caused by frozen and burst pipes.
Every time the outside temperature drops below freezing, there is a risk of frozen pipes in your home. Outdoor pipes that are directly exposed to the cold, including hose bibs, water supply lines, water sprinkler lines, and swimming pool supply lines, are the most likely to freeze. Indoor pipes in unheated or uninsulated areas including basements, attics, crawlspaces, garages, kitchen and bathroom cabinets, and uninsulated exterior walls are also at high risk of freezing.
Once water turns into ice within a pipe, the ice will continue to expand. This puts a high amount of pressure on the pipe which will eventually cause a burst, no matter if the pipe is metal or plastic. Pipe bursts damage the affected pipes and connectors and allow water to spill out into the property. Even a small break in a pipe can spill out thousands of gallons of water in just a few hours and flood the affected area.
Preventing Frozen Pipes
The good news about frozen pipes is that they are largely preventable. Taking the following actions before the winter or before a deep freeze will reduce the risk of frozen pipes:
Drain the water from water sprinkler and swimming pool supply lines at the end of each season.
Drain outside hoses and hose bibs and store the hose in a shed or garage for the winter. You should also open the outside hose bibs to allow any excess water to drain out of them and close the inside valves that supply water to the hose bibs.
Look for pipes in uninsulated and unheated areas of your home including the basement, crawlspace, attic, garage, and under kitchen and bathroom sinks. These pipes should be insulated with pipe insulation, heat tape, or heat cables that you can get from a hardware store.
If there are water supply lines in your garage, keep your garage door shut in the winter.
Open kitchen and bathroom cabinets under the sink so heat from the home will circulate to the pipes under the sink. Move any cleaning supplies if necessary to keep them out of reach of children.
In severe cold temperatures, turn faucets in your home on to a trickle so that water is constantly moving through the pipes. Even slight movement is enough to keep water from freezing.
If you leave your home for a couple days, leave the heat on in your home with the temperature set to no lower than 55 degrees.
How to Thaw Frozen Pipes
When a pipe freezes, there is still time to thaw the pipe and prevent a pipe burst. Thawing frozen pipes with these tips can help avoid a pipe burst and the damage it causes:
If only a trickle of water comes out when you turn on a faucet, there is likely a frozen pipe somewhere in the supply line. Follow the line to find the frozen pipe.
Leave the faucet on so that the water within the pipes keeps moving. The moving water will help the ice melt and the water from the melting ice will have somewhere to go with the faucet on.
Thaw the frozen section of the pipe by applying a heat source to the pipe such as an electric heating pad, electric hair dryer, portable space heater, or towels soaked in hot water. Do not use an open flame such as a blowtorch, kerosene or propane heater, or charcoal stove. Apply the heat until the water pressure returns to normal. If you cannot find or access the frozen pipe to thaw it out yourself, call our professionals at Fly Plumbing & HVAC.
Frozen Pipe Repair
Our technicians at Fly Plumbing & HVAC provide frozen pipe repair services that include fixing and thawing frozen pipes. We will make sure to find and access the frozen section of the piping and thaw the pipe if possible before it leads to a burst. If a pipe burst has occurred in your home, we can repair or replace the broken sections of the piping. We know that burst pipes are an emergency which is why we are available 24 hours a day to respond to emergencies and provide same day services.
Contact Fly Plumbing & HVAC
Our technicians at Fly Plumbing & HVAC provide frozen pipe repair services that include fixing and thawing frozen pipes. We will make sure to find and access the frozen section of the piping and thaw the pipe if possible before it leads to a burst. If a pipe burst has occurred in your home, we can repair or replace the broken sections of the piping. We know that burst pipes are an emergency which is why we are available 24 hours a day at 847-999-7430 to respond to emergencies and provide same day services.
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