How to Thaw Frozen Pipes Safely in a Brighton Home

Confirm it is frozen, not shut off

Start by checking the obvious. Open a faucet on the same floor and see whether the problem is one line or the whole house. If every tap is dry, the main may be frozen or the utility may have an outage.

Feel along exposed pipe in the garage, the crawl space and the wall that faces north. A frozen section often looks frosted and feels colder than the rest. Bulging or a visible split means you should skip thawing and shut off the water first.

Safe ways to thaw a pipe

Start at the faucet end and work back toward the frozen spot. Thawing from the faucet lets melted water escape instead of building pressure behind the ice. A hair dryer on a low setting works on short, reachable runs. Warm towels soaked in hot water and wrapped around the pipe also work. A portable electric heater placed a safe distance away can warm a closed crawl space. Move slowly and keep every heat source away from insulation and anything that burns.

Why Brighton pipes freeze

Brighton sits at about 4,987 feet on the plains north of Denver. Cold air can pool overnight, and wind moves across open ground. Pipes in exterior walls, garages and unheated crawl spaces lose heat fastest. Buried service lines sit below the frost line. The City of Brighton's residential table lists a frost line of 36 inches, so a frozen line inside the house is far more common than a frozen line under the yard. If the yard line is the one that quit, see water service line repair.

Signs the pipe already split

A pipe can split before it thaws. The water escapes when the ice melts, and that is when a damp patch or a drip shows up.

• Water sounds behind a wall or above a ceiling.
• A stain or bubbling paint near a frozen run.
• A meter that turns with every tap closed.
• A drop in pressure after the pipe thaws.

If you see any of these, close the main valve and call. A split pipe needs a repair, described on the burst pipe repair page.

When to call a plumber

Call if the frozen pipe is behind a finished wall, in a slab or under the house, where you cannot reach it safely. Call if you cannot find the frozen section. Call if any part of the pipe is bulged, cracked or leaking.

A technician thaws the pipe with proper tools and checks the run for damage before the water comes back on. The frozen pipe repair page covers how that visit goes.

Prevent it before the next cold snap

Disconnect garden hoses and shut off the supply to outdoor spigots before winter. Insulate pipes in the garage and crawl space with foam sleeves. Seal the gaps around pipes that enter the house. When the forecast turns very cold, open cabinet doors, let a faucet trickle on the exposed run and keep the heat on, even if you are away. Learn where the main shutoff is now, not during a leak.

If you are away from home

A frozen pipe is most costly when nobody is home to see it. Before a trip in winter, leave the heat on at a safe setting and ask a neighbor to check the house. If you plan a long absence, you can shut off the main valve and drain the lines. A plumber can walk you through the steps if you have never done it.

Check the places pipes hide

Look under sinks on exterior walls, in the garage ceiling, along the rim joists and around the water heater closet. These are the cold spots in many houses. A pipe that froze once will freeze again in the same spot. Mark that spot, insulate it and consider sealing the gap that lets cold air reach it.

Renters and landlords

If you rent, report a frozen pipe to the landlord right away and keep a record. If you manage a rental, ask the tenant to call you and the plumber at the same time.

After the pipe thaws

Turn the water on slowly and watch the pipe and the ceiling below it. Check each fixture on that line for pressure. Look again an hour later and again the next morning. A pipe that froze once often froze because of its location. Ask whether that run can be moved or insulated.