5 steps to safely thaw your pipes

Waking up to a frozen pipe is certainly not the best way to start the day. Here are five main methods you can use to safely thaw a frozen plumbing pipe in your home:

Before you begin thawing the pipe, you must first make sure the pipe hasn't burst.

• Once you find the frozen culprit, examine it closely for signs of wetness. Even a little bit of water seeping out of a joint is a sign of a pipe break.
• In this case, shut off your main water line and contact a plumber to replace or repair the broken section of pipe.
• If the pipe is frozen but not broken, you can begin thawing it.
• Before you begin, turn on the faucet that is supplied by the pipe. This allows water and vapour to escape as the ice melts inside the pipe.

• An incandescent or infrared heat lamp is one of the easiest ways to thaw a frozen pipe. Just position the heat lamp towards the pipe and turn it on.

• A portable heater works well when pointed towards an accessible frozen pipe beneath a kitchen sink or bathroom vanity.

• Turn a handheld hair dryer on its highest heat setting and point it at the frozen pipe. Keep the hair dryer continuously moving for even thawing.

• Wrap a grounded, water-resistant heating pad around the section of frozen pipe that is nearest to your faucet fixture. As soon as water stops dripping out of the faucet, move the heating pad further down the line until all sections of pipe are thawed.

• Electric heat tape contains an electrical heating element inside, and the temperature is controlled by a thermostat. Simply wrap the tape around the frozen pipe and plug it in.

If the frozen pipe is inside a wall, the easiest way to thaw it is by pointing an infrared heat lamp towards the wall where you believe the pipe to be.

• An infrared heat lamp works faster than an incandescent one because all of the heat is directed at the wall, without heating the surrounding air.
• Position the heat lamp no closer than 45.5 centimetres from the wall in the area closest to the faucet. As it thaws, water will trickle out of the open faucet. Once water stops dripping, move the heat lamp further along the wall to continue thawing frozen sections of pipe.

Although it may be a hassle, thawing a frozen pipe is usually a simple task that can be completed fairly quickly. Follow this guide to thawing frozen pipes without calling a professional plumber.