Here’s How To Unfreeze Your Pipes During Texas Cold Spell

With all the below freezing temperatures we've had here in Amarillo the last few days, one of the issues many people have faced are frozen pipes. Sometimes, no matter the steps you take to prevent them from freezing, they still can.

Scrolling through social media, I've seen a lot of friends who've mentioned their pipes had finally given in to freezing. Makes for some difficult living when that happens. Simple things we take for granted such as filling a pot with water to cook with, or simply washing our hands or taking a shower.

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Well all is not lost when the pipes freeze in your home, there's no need to panic. Sure, it's going to take a little work to unfreeze them, but you can do it. With these five easy things you can do, you should have them back up and running in no time.

TURN ON THE FAUCET

Ok, this one is important simply from a standpoint of you don't want your pipes to burst. Remember, pressure builds between the ice blockage and faucet. Just because it's frozen doesn't mean it's completely frozen solid. Turn the faucet on just a little bit, so as the thawing starts to take place, the water that is building up in there has somewhere to exit, as well as the ice that will inevitably become water.

APPLY HEAT

Sure, you can't get to the pipes underground, but there are pipes you CAN get to, and those are going to be frozen as well. One simple thing to do is to apply heat to those exposed areas. Do something like put a space heater right in front of the affected pipes and let that heat just attack the area. As the exposed area begins to thaw out, the heat will travel down the pipe to the areas you can't hit with it. As that happens, the ice inside will slowly begin to melt away, freeing up those pipes.

KEEP HEAT ON IT EVEN AFTER WATER STARTS FLOWING

Just because you're starting to see some water get through those pipes doesn't mean you can stop heating that area. Until you have full water pressure, it means there are still some areas that are frozen inside. Chances are, you just managed to get part of the pipe opened up to give the water a little room to get through. That heat needs to remain there so it can melt out ALL the ice inside that pipe. If you remove the heat too soon, it'll just freeze right back up on you.

CHECK ALL PIPES AND FAUCETS

There's a good chance that if one is frozen up, multiple pipes are frozen. However, it could be limited to just the one. In any case, if you find one faucet that isn't working, make sure you check ALL the faucets in your home. You may find there's another one that isn't getting the water through, and you'll end up with multiple burst pipes.

PREVENTION IS KEY

Any time a hard freeze like this is coming in, there are steps you should immediately take in order to prevent freezing from happening. It doesn't mean it will 100% stop it from happening, but you've got a much better chance of avoiding frozen pipes by doing these two things.

One, keep faucets in the home dripping. It doesn't need to be a steady flow, but making sure there is a slow drip on all faucets will allow the water to continue to come through the pipe making it harder for it to freeze. Two, keep cabinet doors open where pipes are found. Allowing the heat from your home to actually get inside the cabinet and keep the pipes warm will assuredly give those pipes a better chance of staying free and loose.