Attempt to Thaw Out Pipes to Prevent Bursting

Portland may be seeing a lot of rain this week, but that doesn’t mean winter isn’t in full swing. You never know when a cold front is going to hit, and you’re going to need to flip into winter mode. That not only means turning the heat up and grabbing that heavy coat, but also making sure your pipes will make it through unharmed.

Surely if there was a way to stop the bursting from happening, you would do it, right? Well, there may be. As soon as you suspect you have frozen pipes, there are a few things you should do to try and thaw them out.

How to That Out Frozen Pipes in Portland

  • Try rubbing the pipes with warm, damp rags.
  • Try wrapping heat tape around the pipes.
  • Try exposing a boxed-in area of your pipes to inside heat.
  • Try using a hairdryer at its lowest setting.
  • Try using a heat gun.

But, sometimes, your pipes just will not cooperate with you and you’ll end up having a burst pipe problem anyways. If you do, follow the following steps carefully before calling a professional.

What to Do if Your Pipes Burst

  1. Turn off the main water valve to shut the water off.
  2. Turn off your central heating system.
  3. Turn on all of your taps to drain the water from the system.
  4. Shut off the electricity and do not touch or try to remove any flooded electrical wiring.

Once those few things are taken care of, it’s time to call in a 3 Mountains Plumbing expert. We will repair the broken pipe and prepare the rest of your plumbing for winter. Call us today!

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