As freezing temperatures and hazardous wind chills spread across North Carolina, homeowners may experience frozen pipes. If these pipes burst, it might result in flooding, so it's important to act promptly.
Although there are a few things you can do to keep your pipes from freezing, once they have, things become more complicated.
In the Northeast, basements are common.
“Plumbing is in the basement, which is also where all the heating equipment is. So it's not gonna freeze there,” Marugo stated. “It's gonna stay nice and warm.”
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Why should my faucets drip?
Compared to flowing water, still water is more likely to freeze.
Consider yourself outside in a subfreezing environment.
"After a while you're going to get cold" stated Chris Ortiz, the owner of Hutto-based Blue 42 Group Plumbing. “You’re going to have to start moving to get your blood pumping.”
Water is one more matter to which the same principle can be used.
“If water is standing still, it's going to start to freeze at one particular spot,” stated Marugo. “As soon as it starts to make ice crystals, those ice crystals very quickly make more ice crystals which make more. If I can keep it moving even just a little bit, then I don't have water sitting at one spot long enough to start getting that cold.”
Running your faucets maintains the flow of water. Additionally, by releasing pressure, with frozen water in your pipes, it can stop them from bursting.
“When water turns into ice, it expands fairly rapidly,” stated Marugo. “It's going to put a lot of pressure on the rest of the system. And if that system is closed, i.e. all of the faucets are closed, then everything in front of the ice is not going to move very well at all. So, that ice is going to expand till the point where it breaks something.”
Should I let my house's faucets drip?
It's not necessary for every faucet to drip. Plumbers advised KUT to concentrate on the faucets in rooms with exterior walls instead. Drip the faucets in your kitchen and master bathroom if they are on different sides of your home and have windows facing the exterior. (If you are dripping a sink in the same bathroom, you do not need to drip the shower or tub.) Apartments and single-family residences are subject to the same requirements.
Make sure to drip water, both hot and cold. According to Marugo, you must ensure that water is flowing through both the hot and cold pipes because they are connected through separate pipes. You can drip lukewarm water if it doesn't have separate handles controlling the temperature of the water, like some kitchen sinks have.
According to Marugo, you don't need a lot of water flowing to prevent freezing if your home is on concrete. Try to get that pitter-patter or that drip-long beat-drip.
“If you know you've got an open crawl space underneath your house, and it's going to get pretty windy, then we would recommend that you run it closer to almost full stream." Marugo said.
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What if my pipes get frozen?
It's possible that frozen water in your pipes is the cause of your faucet's sudden lack of water flow if neither you nor your landlord have turned off the water.
Some people may choose to be inventive, according to Marugo. In an attempt to thaw their pipes, they find anything that generates heat and place it up against a wall or floor.
“People use heat guns, soldering torches, heating blankets, brewing lamps out of their chicken coop,” he remarked. Also, hairdryers and space heaters.
However, Marugo advises against using any gadgets at home. He declared, “The only thawing machine that we are recommending is the sun,” Marugo claimed that there is an greater chance of melting a pipe or igniting a fire, both of which he has witnessed occur.
Some plumbers advise going ahead but sticking to a hairdryer.
“We like to use either blowtorches or heat guns, which have a lot more heat to them,” Ortiz remarked. “But we know how much we can heat the pipes up since we are familiar with them. Somebody who's not, I think a hairdryer would be the best approach.”
The take away here is to always remember to drip those faucets especially in extremely windy cold weather. Tonight's temperature in the Triad will reach lows around 12 degrees. This latest arctic blast is expected to last through the end of the week for North Carolina.
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