overnight my water pipes froze and now my house has no running water. how do i fix this? i tried using a blow dryer on it for a while but nothing happened. am i just fucked until the weather heats up?
>>932117
>water pipes froze
>i just fucked until the weather heats up?
That might be the smaler one of the problems possible
Heat pipe with room heate and/or salt
Open all faucets, use anything you can to heat them, run to a big box store and get some insulation for pipes, you need to thaw them before they crack
>>932117
Run the heat in the house. Warm up the space where the pipes are frozen.
Pipes freeze when the space drops below freezing or when hit by continual drafts from the outside.
To speed things along you can get some heat tape for the pipe. Get a length of tape NO LONGER than the length of the run of pipe. Attach it to the BOTTOM of the pipe and wrap loosely with fiberglass insulation if suggested by the manufacturer.
As long as you get the space heated up the pipes will thaw. Crack open one of the faucets so that when water does start flowing it has somewhere to go. Not full blast, just a trickle.
>>932117
Pipes usually burst when frozen. In fact you might have this problem and not realize it until the thaw. Though I should note that Ive never seen this problem not present itself immediately.
As for fixing it depends on where the pipe is blow dryer wont cut it. Last time this happened to me it was a down stairs office in our family business. No one used it anymore and the heat was off. I stuck space heaters in the bathroom in question to force a thaw.
You need to familiarize yourself with the mechanisms to cut off the water.
Right now.
Cause it might get worse before it gets better when you start to thaw. But that is the solution thaw and cut off the water. Leave it off until you can keep the pipe from freezing either insulation or just keeping your heat at a certain level.
>>932117
Hairdryer or heat gun. Run it along all sections where there is a cold draft of air that froze it. The pipes may be burst, so look for that. Turn your water off if you find cracks so you can fix them without water going all over when it thaws.
At least your sewer didn't freeze off. That is, "no fun".
I had this happen to me twice before, and both times it caused the pipes to burst after the water thawed.
If you don't know how to turn off the main water line to your house, figure that out right now and get on it. Listen carefully for running water, it will lead you to the leak(s).
After you get the pipe's fixed you should look into getting proper insulation for the pipes and walls. In my case, both times it was due to having naked pipes in exterior walls leading hose spigots. Make sure your pipes are wrapped up and your walls properly insulated before you seal them back up.
>>932117
how does this even happen? are you people living in houses from the 1800s? the only time i have seen this happen is when the heating fails
>>932218
my house is on stilts so the pipes are above ground and stick out so they are more exposed to the cold. and no it was actually built in 2009
You either have the heat to low or the pipes are outside exposed in some way without insulation.
I use a mr buddy heater and point it at the wall on low. Not to close, just a couple feet away, you dont want fire. Warm the wall up and it will thaw, if its in the basement or a crawl space do the same but monitor it. Get some heat tape for any exposed pipe and some foam pipe insulation for future use.
>>932224
they sell lengths of pipe insulation and wire that heats up the pipe with a thermostat on it. Will prevent it in the future.
>>932224
>built in 2009
>pipes are above ground and stick out so they are more exposed to the cold
What have we learned today?
Just because its new doesn't mean it's not built in a retarded way.
Heat tracing. Are you familiar with it?
>>932224
First off, find your general contractor and kill him.
After that, go down to the hardware store and pick up a pipe heating cable. It'll probably cost around $40.
I don't live in an area where frozen pipes are a thing that happens, but what do modern houses do to prevent the pipes from bursting when this happens?
>>932218
This is super common in cold places. People are just idiots when it comes to cold, house design, and water pipes. Like having water pipes running up an outside wall, OUTSIDE the insulation, or through the vented crawlspace OUTSIDE the insulation. That isn't even the beginning.
>>932322
Design it so that pipes are going through inside walls and ceilings instead of bottom floors and outside walls. Using PEX instead of copper or PVC. Using pipe insulation and/or electrical pipe heating tape. These last two are not needed if the place has been designed correctly. But, pipe insulation is nice to have for the pipes in case the heating is off for a while.
>>932294
>find your general contractor and kill him.
This.
>>932362
Ah, my bad. It's already been said.
