Ask a Hudson Valley Plumbing Expert: What to Do If My Pipes Burst

React Quickly, Turn off the Water, and Call Jones Services

Having frozen pipes is a bad enough problem homeowners have to deal with in the winter time, let alone if those frozen pipes burst. Unfortunately, it can become a reality if frozen pipes aren’t taken care of in a timely manner.

Water that freezes expands in your pipes and pushes against the sides, any nearby valves, seams, and faucets. When it pushes and expands on the pipe, it puts a lot of added stress on it that will eventually cause it to rupture and burst.

And since we know you don’t want that bursting to happen, you should try some thawing out techniques. But, before attempting to do any of that, turn off your water to help relieve the pressure in the frozen pipe.

How to Thaw out Frozen Pipes in Hudson Valley

1. Expose a boxed-in area of your pipes to inside heat.
2. Rub your pipes with warm, damp rags until you can feel them warm up.
3. Use a heat gun – but be careful. You will want to make sure you are not near any wood or paper when doing this.
4. Use heat tape – and again, be careful. Don’t wrap the tape over itself because it could cause a fire.
5. Turn on a hairdryer at its lowest setting and hold it over the frozen pipe.

But, don’t get discouraged if this doesn’t work. Sometimes the frozen pipes are just too frozen, and will burst despite your best efforts. If that’s the case, don’t panic and just follow the steps below to reduce the damage done.

What to Do if Your Pipes Burst

1. Your water should already be turned off if you tried thawing out your pipes, but if you didn’t then you need to make sure the water is turned off at the meter.
2. Then, turn off your central heating system and turn on all of the taps. Turning on the taps helps drain the system so that there is no water flowing out of the pipes.
3. Turn off the electricity and do not touch any wires or systems that may have become flooded. Leave that to the professionals!

Once that’s done, call Jones Services right away. We will be respond to your home as soon as we can and get that ruptured pipe fixed and working like normal in no time. Call us today!