April 28, 2021
A discolored plumbing pipe like this can indicate a damaging leak is not far off! Time to call the experts at Pippin.
It doesn't take much to cause faucet hookups and exposed water pipes to freeze and potentially burst, creating havoc in your home. For Oklahoma homeowners, freezing temperatures are a possibility any given day (or night) from mid-October to mid-April, and the damage done by frozen pipes will have you scrambling in the spring to fix them. Just a short period of 30 to 32 degree weather can begin a chain of events that leads to thousands of dollars in water damage.
Here are the signs to look out for that will indicate you have a frozen pipe issue, and how you can resolve it with frost proof hose pipes and plumbing pipes.
How Do I Know When I Have a Frozen Pipe?
There are several signs you may have a frozen or burst pipe. Leaks and dripping pipes are obvious indicators that there is a problem, but some are a little less apparent. Other indicators include:
Changes in your water pressure
Discoloration
Strange smells
Bubbling and whistling noises when you turn the water on
Spiking water bills
Some other common plumbing issues, like banging pipes when the water is not running, or not having any hot water, may seem like they are due to frozen pipes, but are often not caused by low temperatures and should be checked out by a licensed plumber.
This is a common frozen copper plumbing pipe that has burst, also showing some pipe discoloration.
What Happens When Pipes Freeze?
There are certain areas where pipes are most vulnerable to freezing. If your attic and crawl space insulation is non-existent, or has fallen into disarray, they are the first areas to look for plumbing leaks. If it’s cold and windy, crawl spaces are always the first to freeze. However, the rupture in a pipe caused by freezing can happen anywhere (above ceilings, inside walls, in buried pipes).
Another example of a pipe that burst due to ice expanding further down the pipe.
When a pipe freezes, the ice in it expands, causing pressure along the length of the pipe. The pressure builds up somewhere between the faucet and the ice blockage, and this is where a pipe will burst. That’s why breakage often happens several feet away from the part of the pipe that’s frozen. This kind of problem can be complicated, can cause damage to the rest of your home, and is quite costly to repair.
Showing the common problem areas for frozen pipes, and where pipe insulation may be needed.
How Frost Proof Faucets Work
If you have a frost-proof faucet hookup, the long body should drain after the water is turned off. This is why it’s normal to see these frost proof faucets drip for a minute. If you leave your garden hose hooked up, the body of the faucet is unable to drain, and the water in the rest of the hose will freeze, causing it to rupture inside a wall or crawl space. Unfortunately, you might not even know it has burst until you turn the faucet back on, usually in the spring.
How To Prevent Frozen Pipes
There are steps you can take to help prevent your pipes from freezing and avoid the cost of emergency plumbing repairs.
Drain outdoor water supply lines before the fall.
Unhook hoses when not in use if there’s a potential for freezing temperatures (any time between mid-October and mid-April).
If you have them, close upstream valves that provide water to outdoor hoses, and let hose bibs drain. Leave the faucet on/open.
Insulate pipes that are exposed to cold weather and insulate unheated spaces in your home (like the attic and crawl space).
Consider relocating pipes in unconditioned areas if possible or consider adding heat to those areas during extreme cold. Permanently conditioning or adding low-temperature activated heat to problem areas can prevent issues moving forward.
Leave kitchen and bathroom cabinets open so the heat can get to the pipes, especially if you are leaving for extended periods of time.
In extreme cold, let faucets drip slowly on both hot and cold sides and keep your house warm.
Following these precautions will go a long way toward preventing frozen pipes and avoiding costly repairs. But if you find you’ve got a frozen or burst pipe, call a professional plumber right away before further damage occurs.
Call in the Pippin Professionals
At Pippin Brothers, we’ve been serving the needs of homeowners in Lawton, OK and the surrounding area since 1978. Our certified experts can assess your property for potential plumbing issues and provide solutions that will minimize repairs and virtually eliminate the need for emergency visits.
We also offer maintenance plans that give you peace of mind by providing proactive services that address plumbing issues before they can become emergencies for you.
