Do you have a clogged drain? You may
but it may be clogged with ice! With cold weather coming in again,
homes in Slinger, West Bend, Cedarburg, and all around the midwest may
be experiencing the same problem. Frozen Pipes.
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An owner, master plumber or
heating specialist will return all emergency calls within 15 minutes or
your service call is FREE! Call us today at (262) 644-5466.
You may think your entire plumbing system is in perfect
working order and there is little or no chance of a pipe bursting and
flooding your house. There is one situation, however, you may not have
considered. Water that freezes during the winter in an unprotected pipe
expands, and that expansion can rupture an otherwise sound pipe.
A frozen pipe is always an inconvenience, but it can actually result
in a much more serious situation than just a temporary loss of water. By
taking the proper preventive steps, you may never need to worry about
thawing frozen pipes, or worse, repairing a pipe that bursts when the
water in it freezes solid.
Here’s what to do if you wake up some frigid winter morning to find a water pipe frozen solid:froz pipe
Step 1: Open faucet so steam produced by your thawing activities will be able to escape.
Step 2: Start thawing pipe (see pipe-thawing options below) at
faucet, and work back toward other end of frozen section. As you melt
ice, water and steam will come out open faucet. If you started in the
middle, steam produced by melting ice could get trapped and build up
enough pressure to burst the pipe.
Pipe-thawing options: There are several things you can do to thaw your home’s pipes. Here’s a list:
Probably the most popular and safest pipe-thawing option is to use
hot water. Wrap and secure heavy towel or burlap bag around pipe to
concentrate and hold heat against it. Place bucket under pipe to catch
runoff water, then pour hot or boiling water over towel.
A less messy but far more dangerous heat source for thawing frozen pipes
is a propane torch equipped with a flame-spreader nozzle. With this
heat source, you must be extremely careful to prevent torch flame from
damaging or igniting wall behind pipe. A scrap of fireproof material
between pipe and wall is a good precautionary measure, but the way you
use the torch is the main element in safe pipe thawing. Keep flame
moving back and forth. Never leave it in one spot very long. Be
especially careful if you’re near any soldered pipe joints. Pass over
them very quickly or else they may melt and cause leaks, and you’ll find
that you have a much more serious plumbing problem on your hands than a
frozen pipe. Caution: Never use torch or other direct high heat on
plastic pipe.
If you want to avoid the messiness of thawing with hot water and the
danger of melting soldered joints with propane torch, try heat lamp or
hair dryer as heat source. These work less quickly but are much safer.
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Horsch & Miller Plumbing and Heating serves Slinger, Jackson, Milwaukee And surrounding areas with full service Heating, air conditioning and Plumbing Emergency repairs and Replacements. Service when you need it, with competitive pricing. We will send you a qualified technician, not a salesman, who knows how to complete his task within a minimum amount of time. Whatever and whenever you need us, Heating and Air Conditioning Repair and Service, or Plumbing Repair and services. We are here to serve you, our loyal customers.
