Ways to prevent your pipes from freezing amid frigid temps

MILLBURY, Mass. — A frozen pipe can be a big problem in your home during this extreme cold.

Landry Mechanical General Manager Zane Fonseca says they get about a dozen calls an hour during cold snaps like this for frozen pipes.

“We’re talking about them not having water to be able to flush their toilets to be able to have hot water, take showers,” said Fonseca. “If it’s frozen what’s going to happen if you introduce heat to it is it’s likely going to flood the home once it thaws, so it’s going to split the pipe, usually and then we’re going to have to come out and make a repair.”

If you end up having a frozen pipe, professionals may come with a device called a hot shot machine.

“If there’s any piping that’s frozen in between these two clamps when I turn that box on it’s going to send a current through it and it’s going to actually slowly thaw that pipe and safely is the most important because if we heat the pipe up too quickly, we can actually cause splits,” said Fonseca.

But first, there are some things you can do to prevent your pipes from freezing.

Fonseca says the most common reason for a frozen pipe is when you leave your outdoor hose still attached to your house, so you’ll want to detach it.

“There are devices that are designed to shut off inside the wall where the heated space is, however if you have a garden hose connected to it, it’s unable to drain the water out of the tube where it shuts off and flow outside onto the ground if it’s trapped in that hose,” said Fonseca.

Other things you can do is let your faucet drip to prevent freezing and open your cabinets.

“A lot of the times it’s caused because there’s an outside wall where there’s not enough insulation and so that cold air is hitting that outside wall and it’s freezing the pipe, usually happens with a kitchen faucet kitchen sink, they usually tend to be on outside walls,” said Fonseca.

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