As temperatures drop with the onset of winter, homeowners should prepare their pipes to withstand the cold and not freeze. Frozen pipes can crack, leak and even burst, causing significant water damage to a home and racking up costly repairs.
Colette Brookes from Able Plumbing told West Salem, Wisconsin, news source WXOW that when temperatures dip below 20 degrees, pipes can freeze if they aren't properly insulated. Brookes recommends homeowners apply pipe heating tape or pipe heating cords around plumbing to keep them from freezing.
However, one tactic homeowners should avoid is putting a blow torch to a frozen pipe. Greg Daft from Kelowna Fire Prevention in British Columbia, Canada, told AM 1150 that if a homeowner finds a frozen pipe in their home they should use hair dryers or heat tape to thaw the pipe. There are various combustibles underneath many homes that could easily ignite near an open flame. Some homeowners use electrical heat traces and others might prefer a heat gun. But a heat gun can get very hot, so users should be careful.
