What to Do If Your Pipes Are Frozen | Woods Comfort Systems

The ability to fix frozen pipes before they burst open and flood your home or business saves you thousands of dollars in property damage and plumbing costs. Unfortunately, residential and commercial building owners rarely notice the telltale signs of a problem until it’s too late.

At Wood Comfort Systems, we put people ahead of profits by providing insightful recommendations about how to avoid unnecessary leaks and flooding. We hope this information about how to identify frozen pipes and effective solutions for frozen pipes will help you prevent water damage.

How Burst & Leaking Pipes Impact Buildings

It’s important to keep in mind that a leaking or broken water pipe may require plumbing repair services, remediation and reconstruction work. Over time, even a seemingly minor leak can lead to major problems. These are ways unchecked water can negatively affect your home, business or investment property.

• Mold: Moisture in a warm, dark space is an ideal place for hazardous mold growth to flourish. A minor crack in a previously frozen pipe feeds spores, creating a hidden health hazard for you and your loved ones.
• Fire: Dripping or spraying water from frozen pipe water can cause your electricity wires, breaker box and outlets to spark. That’s how frozen pipes put the entire structure in harm’s way.
• Infrastructure: Unseen water leaks cause beams and load-bearing walls to rot. Weakened infrastructure leads to sagging ceilings and floors.
• Gray Water: Sewage and drainage pipes can freeze as easily as others in your plumbing system. When they crack open, you may need a professional cleaning crew as well as plumbers to deal with the aftermath.

If a water line should begin leaking or burst, Woods offers 24-hour emergency plumbing repair services. We can send someone right over to shut down the water and fix frozen pipes before you incur any unnecessary damage.

Signs Your Pipes Are Frozen

When overnight temperatures drop below freezing or Texas experiences another deep freeze, we encourage property owners to take a good look at their plumbing system. Check for any uncovered pipes, especially those in drafty areas. If you notice any of these signs, contact us immediately.

• Frost Coating the Pipe: When a pipe begins to freeze inside, a light frost covers the exterior.
• Foul Smell from the Drain or Faucet: Bad odors often result from clogged or frozen drains that don’t allow foul water to pass through.
• Slow Trickle From Faucet: As the ice expands inside a water pipe, it reduces the flow to the faucet.
• No Faucet Water: Once a pipe has frozen solid, nothing comes out of the faucet.

You may notice odd sounds coming from your pipes that include whistling, banging or even bizarre bubbling in the toilets. These, along with obvious signs such as bulging water lines or puddling, are signs to call a professional to fix frozen pipes.

Immediate Action: What to Do If Your Pipes Are Frozen

If you see any of the telltale signs of a frozen pipe, call our 24-hour customer service at (512) 842-5066   for emergency plumbing repair services. We will dispatch the nearest certified technician to your home or business. While a Woods Comfort Systems team member is on the way, consider taking the following proactive measures to prevent ice from bursting your pipes.

Raise the Temperature

Use safe resources to increase the temperature around the affected area, such as a heat lamp or heat tape for water pipes. If you can see a bulge, consider using a hair dryer to warm that pipe. Other options may include an indoor space heater.

Open Faucets

If some water is making its way through the system, that means the pipes are not yet frozen solid. Water at a standstill freezes more quickly than when it’s moving.

Increase Surrounding Temperatures

Property owners sometimes turn the heat off to underused spaces, forgetting that water pipes run through them. In the event the lines become frozen, restore heat to the area. Do your best to allow warmth to reach the frozen pipes as quickly as possible.

When a Woods plumbing repair specialist arrives, you can expect a thorough examination of your plumbing system. Detecting slow leaks and bulging areas may mean other locations are also starting to freeze. During the inspection, an experienced technician will identify places where pipes and drains appear stretched or fatigued.

Compromised lines can break at any time, resulting in significant damage and hefty repair and remediation costs. You can rest assured we’ll secure the water lines, efficiently fix frozen pipes and make recommendations about next steps and preventive measures.

Contact Woods to Fix Frozen Pipes 24-Hours A Day

While it is possible to fix frozen pipes yourself, we do not recommend DIY for your safety and the higher risk of cost of repairs. Our team is always ready to help a community member by deploying a plumbing repair specialist 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you would like to learn more about our emergency and preventive maintenance services, call us today at (512) 842-5066  for a 24-hour Emergency Services request.