Cold weather climates present unique challenges to property owners that those in other locations do not need to worry about. Atop the list of potentially damaging events in these areas are frozen pipes and sprinkler heads. Essentially, ice can build-up within your pipes, expand, and cause the pipes to rupture. These leaks can spill hundreds of gallons of water into your home or office space every hour. If you experience this on your property in Clifton, NJ, then we encourage you to contact us here at RestorationMaster right away. We will not only fix your pipes, but we will provide full water damage restoration services, as well. We are available 24 hours a day, and can get a team of technicians to your property within 1 to 2 hours of your call.
Frozen Pipes and Sprinklers
Pipes that pass through areas of a building that are not insulated (i.e. outside walls, attics, crawlspaces, etc.) are the most vulnerable to freezing and rupturing. What happens is that the flow of water slows as ice builds up, the ice expands, and your pipes or sprinkler heads have no choice but to burst.
In these emergency scenarios, you must immediately shut off your main water supply, and call us here at RestorationMaster to repair the damage and restore your property. We will fix the damaged areas of your pipes and/or sprinkler heads, remove any excess water that has leaked, and restore all affected areas.
Preventing Frozen Pipes
Because your water needs to be shut off completely in order to repair burst pipes, dealing with this scenario can be a major inconvenience. This is before the extent of the damage has even been evaluated. This is why we would like to present you with tips to avoid frozen pipes altogether:
- Turn your hot and cold water faucets on to allow a very slight trickle. This will allow water to flow continuously, which decreases the odds of it freezing.
- Open cabinets beneath kitchen and bathroom sinks so that heat can build-up closer to the pipes (you can put a small space-heater there, as well).
- Install electrical heat tape, or pipe insulation, around pipes that run through poorly insulated areas.
- Strategically place space-heaters in areas with poor insulation.
- Detach, and bring inside, outdoor hoses, and shut off your outdoor water supply until temperatures warm.
Locating Frozen Pipes
A telltale sign of a frozen, or freezing, pipe is low water pressure. If you notice this, it is to your benefit to seek out the freezing pipe, and do what you can to thaw it out. To find freezing pipes, make use of the following steps:
- Try multiple faucets throughout your home or office to determine which pipe is causing low water pressure.
- Keep the faucet on the troubling pipe running.
- Starting at the faucet, inspect the supply line to determine which pipes are freezing.
- Look for bulges, fissures, or layers of frost in order to identify the freezing, or frozen, pipe.
Thawing Frozen Pipes
If you manage to locate a freezing, or frozen, pipe, it is important to thaw it out right away. This can be done by using hair dryers, space-heaters, and infrared or incandescent heat lamps. Do not use a flame torch, as this can cause severe damage. While you heat the pipe, keep your water lightly running through that pipe. If the pipe is not exposed enough to utilize the above methods, perform the following:
- Turn your building heat up.
- Use an infrared lamp to heat the wall containing the frozen pipe.
- Tear out drywall, or ceiling tiles, to heat the pipe directly. This will be less costly than the damage typically associated with burst pipes.
If you have frozen pipes or sprinkler heads, or any sort of burst pipes, we encourage you to give us a call here at RestorationMaster as soon as possible. We are available 24 hours a day, and can get a team of technicians to your location within 1 to 2 hours of your call. We are available at (888) 915-7197, and proudly service property owners in the Clifton, NJ, area.