Frozen, not burst. Yet.
A frozen pipe that hasn’t split is a warm-air problem. A split one is a plumbing problem. Here’s how to tell, and what to do in the next hour.
In the next hour.
- 01
Find the frozen run
It’s almost always on an outside wall, in a kitchen sink cabinet, over a crawlspace or near a basement window.
- 02
Open the faucet
Leave the tap open so melting water and steam have somewhere to go.
- 03
Warm it slowly
A hair dryer, a space heater at a safe distance, or warm towels. Never a torch: old houses burn.
- 04
Watch for the split
When it thaws, look for drips along the run. If water appears, shut the main and call.
The pipes we see freeze every January
- Kitchen supply lines on the back wall of a bungalow, under the window.
- The line to an upstairs bathroom in a duplex that runs up an unheated porch wall.
- Hose bibs that were never shut off from inside.
- Supply lines over an uninsulated crawl in a Polish flat’s rear addition.
Most of these are fixable with a little insulation, a relocated line, or a frost-free hose bib. We do that work in the fall so you don’t have to call us in January.
Water coming out? Shut the main, then call.
Frozen and burst pipe calls answered any hour.
The old-house plumber’s site, built in seven days.
Sixteen pages: house types drawn by hand, three generations of the family, an honest hourly rate explained, and a lead service line page written for Milwaukee.